


Darkest Before Dawn

by lollipopdiaries



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, olicity au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2017-04-14
Packaged: 2018-04-16 06:19:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 73,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4614438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lollipopdiaries/pseuds/lollipopdiaries
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver Queen is a single Dad with a six year old son Connor. Felicity Smoak is a single Mom with a four year old daughter Emily. One day, Connor is kidnapped at his school. As Felicity together with her daughter attempt to stop it, they got taken as hostages too.</p><p>Angsty and Dark for a while, but things will get lighter as they always do with Olicity.</p><p>No Queen's Gambit, therefore Robert Queen in alive. The crucible for the change in Oliver was knowing he was going to be a single Dad.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darkness Falls

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yes, I'm starting a new multi-chapter story. With "The New Bratva Captain" completed, I wanted to start a new one. For those patiently waiting for updates of my other stories, I will get to them, I just need inspiration to update them or I wouldn't do them them the justice they deserve.**

**This is something totally different from the others i've previously written but I couldn't let go of the plot that had been playing around in my head for a few weeks, hence DARKEST BEFORE DAWN.**

**If you're reading this via my tumblr account, shout-out to Joisunny who did the artwork for the story, send her some love at her twitter handle joisunny.**

**DISCLAIMER: Still don't own anything despite how hard I work, damn.**

**STORY PLOT: Oliver Queen is a single Dad with a six year old son Connor. Felicity Smoak is a single Mom with a four year old daughter Emily. One day, Connor is kidnapped at his school. As Felicity together with her daughter attempt to stop it, they got taken as hostages too.**

**Angsty and Dark for a while, but things will get lighter as they always do with Olicity.**

**No Queen's Gambit, therefore Robert Queen in alive. The crucible for the change in Oliver was knowing he was going to be a single Dad.**

**Send me some love if you like this one. It will inspire me to update the story faster...**

Get in touch with me or read my stories via:

Twitter – lollipopsays

Tumblr – everythinglollipop

Fanfcition - lollipopdiaries

* * *

**DARKEST BEFORE DAWN**

Chapter 1: Darkness Falls

_When things are extremely bad, the dawn it's a signal that times are going to get much better, that there is always hope, even in the worst of circumstances. After all the trials and tribulations, we emerge stronger and better. Some of us even find our happy stories amidst all the darkness._

"No, no, no!" Felicity was pulling Connor's left arm as the man in a black mask pulled the child's other arm and shouted at her at the same time.

The words sounded threatening since they were said with a heavy gutter sounding accent but her attention was not only on her own safety nor was it on daughter Emily who was clinging to her leg like she was glued there, but rather, she focused on tightening her hold on Connor Queen at least until she felt something sticky drip from her head then she was seeing stars before everything went dark.

Felicity slowly opened her eyes, wondering why she had such a splitting headache but then she heard a familiar voice calling out to her and it all came back to her making her sit up suddenly.

"Mommy," her daughter's scared voice greeted her pulling her arm as if to get her attention which was focused on surveying the little room where she found herself.

"Em, it's okay," she tried to sooth her daughter still trying to piece together everything that happened in her mind.

And it all came back to her the next second. Her daughter and she were saying goodbye to Connor Queen, a boy two years older that her Emily at the entrance of the school they both attended. She picked up her daughter everyday at one in the afternoon. Then they would have late lunch before her daughter would spend the rest of the day with her in her office.

_Three months ago, Felicity had been shocked to find her daughter disheveled and her dress torn with dirt marks on her face although she looked relatively uninjured aided by a young boy maybe two years older than her where she stood._

_"_ _What happened?" Felicity ran to her daughter._

_"_ _She fell on the monkey bars trying to imitate what me and my friends were doing but she's fine, I checked already," the young boy told her dividing his attention between Felicity and her daughter. "I told you Em, you're not yet tall or old enough for that." The little boy was so concerned and talked to her daughter in a voice that very much sounded like an older brother talking to his younger sibling that for a moment she had to take pause at the picture the two of them made._

_"_ _But I wanted to try," Emily hiccupped as she said, "if you can do it. So should I. Besides you were there the whole time, I knew I'd be safe."_

_Felicity leaned down to wipe away the remaining tear tracks that still covered her daughter face before she turned to the young boy, "thank you for looking out for my Emily."_

_The little boy smiled at her and she could already see that smile the boy had was going to win him so many girls in a few years time. Right now she was just grateful for the big brother stance of the young boy._

_"_ _It's not a bother, she really isn't a bother. She's like one of my best friends!"_

_At the young boy's statement, her Emily's face lit up like Christmas. She would later find out from the teachers at her daughters school that the young boy was Connor Queen, the son of Oliver Queen, Queen Consolidated heir, current CEO and one of Starling City's most eligible bachelors. Apparently, Connor was a product of one of the youthful affairs of Oliver Queen when he had just turned 21. Now at 27, he was single-father to Connor who proved to be a well-balanced young man at six years old._

_From that time Emily had been 'rescued' by Connor on the monkey bars, the two have grown to become even better friends, if there was such a thing as best-best friend, that was what they were, despite the two year age difference._

_Connor had even introduced Emily to his Aunt Thea when she had picked him up then, when finally Felicity and Thea had crossed paths, since it was usually Thea who picked up Connor, he had introduced Felicity to his Aunt as Emily's Mom._

_Felicity and Thea had met on several occasions after that but had limited their interactions to quick hi's and hello's as the kids where usually in a hurry to get somewhere else except that one time that Connor had convinced Felicity and Emily to join them for Ice Cream and the four of them had bonded._

_After bonding over ice cream, Thea and Felicity had exchanged numbers and talked a little about what the other was into and found that despite a lot of obvious differences, they actually had an easy feel about one another, promising each one to find the time to do a second round of ice cream bonding with the kids in the near future._

Felicity blinked several times to get her equilibrium in order, wrapping an arm quickly and firmly around her daughter then searched for the little boy who was the reason they were all in this little room since she realized she probably had been knocked on the head judging by the streak of dried blood her hand had touched on her head.

"I'm sorry," a small voice said from a corner of the room.

"Connor honey, come here," Felicity told him the hand that was feeling her head reached out to the boy who was trying to be brave but was obviously terrified. "It's ok Con, everything's going to be fine. We're all going to be fine. This is some kind of misunderstanding."

The voice that followed the banging of the door debunked whatever attempt Felicity was making to assure both the children with her that they were okay.

"There is no misunderstanding here, none at all. If it isn't clear by now, this is a kidnap-for-ransom matter that you have mixed yourself and your daughter up with when it could have been just all about the little brat over there. But no, you needed to interfere and play hero without a thought for what might be in store for you and your daughter."

Felicity gulped at the statement, swallowing unconsciously.

"That will teach you in the future not to get involve in matters that don't concern you….if you'll have a future that is," the man looked at her with an evil grin.

"Mommy," Emily wrapped her arms around her mother crying, "I'm scared."

"Suusshhh, it's okay. Don't be scared honey. We're going to be okay. All of us," she wrapped her arms tightly around the two children with her and looked at the man challenging him with her last statement.

"When my Dad get's his hands on you, you're going to wish you were never born!" Connor screamed at the man who just laughed.

"He'll have to get his hands on me first, and that would never happen. Now come here little brat! It's time to make that phone call to your Dad and make me and my friends millionaires." He pulled Connor away from Felicity who attempted to pull Connor back to her but was kicked in the ribs by the man for her effort.

"Ah," Felicity couldn't help but let go of Connor and put her hands on her hip at the overwhelming pain.

'That will teach you to stop interfering!"

"My Dad's going to kill you!" Connor shouted at the man and was slapped on the face by the man in return.

* * *

Oliver was in the middle of a meeting be didn't want to be in. The drone of the monotonous voice of the head of the accounting department really wasn't helping his cause but as CEO of the company, it was important that he pay attention.

To a lot of the senior officers and the board of directors, Oliver still had to fully prove his worth as a CEO capable of steering the company to even greater heights and not be a lame duck figure head just because he happened to be the son of the owner and majority shareholder of the company.

His Dad, Robert Queen had taken the position of Chairman of the Board and had largely taken a back seat, semi-retired role in favor of his son during the last three years.

The ringing of his phone broke Oliver's wandering thoughts as he saw it was his sister Thea calling him. Since she knew he was in a management committee meeting and usually did not disturb him, he knew her calling him had to be about something major so he made his quick excuse not even taking the time to hear anyone acknowledging it and all but ran outside the room and pressed his call button.

"Thea, what's this about? I'm in the middle of an important meeting."

"Connor."

His son's name was all it took for him to quickly sprint to the executive elevator signaling his long time driver/bodyguard and friend that they were leaving.

"What's wrong?" The hesitation in his sister's voice, she was normally so confident had his stomach churn.

"I was on my way to pick-up Con when I got a call from his school administrator, Ollie, Con was kidnapped a few minutes ago at his school, I haven't gotten all the details yet but I'm about five minutes away. I think you should go there too."

Oliver leaned on the wall of the elevator for support when his sister started to tell him about what happened to his son and forgot to breathe for almost a full minute but nodded at his sister's suggestion.

"I'm on my way now speedy," reverting to his childhood nickname for her.

"Ollie, I'm scared…." his sister's voice trailed off brokenly.

So was he, but he couldn't breakdown now. During the last six years his son had been his life, his reason for living. Sure, did not have all the time in the world to spend with his son with his responsibilities and all, but he had tried to be there for his son as much as he could.

When he had first learned from his then off and on 'friend', not really a girlfriend really since he didn't do relationships back then, more like one of his constants which was one up over one-night stands, he was shocked and didn't know what to do. He was just 21 after all and still enjoying his wanton ways with careless abandon as a privileged youth.

The woman in question didn't want to be tied down with the responsibility of being a mother but was sharp enough to know what the opportunity presented. So together with Oliver's parents and the family lawyers, she had signed her rights away to the child forever and in return, was given two million dollars. The day she gave birth was the last time he and his family has seen the woman. Oliver, with the help of his parents then, raised the young boy until Oliver had finished college, determined more than ever with the added responsibility of son to make something of his senseless life.

Three years ago, he had moved out of the Queen Mansion and moved into the penthouse of a first class residential building with his son. It had been just the two of them with a stay out housekeeper and his younger sister occasionally stopping by.

As Oliver was on his way to his son's school, he had a myriad of thoughts about his son all of them worst case scenarios that upon seeing the familiar front lawn of his son's school, he all but jumped out of the car even before it had fully come to a stop.

* * *

"How could this happen!" Oliver said. "The reason why we chose this school was because you assured us our children would be secure and safe here. It's inexcusable!"

Moira Queen, who had arrived at her grandson's school fifteen minutes after her son and twenty minutes after her daughter had clasped her son's hand before turning back to the school administrator, "this is unacceptable. Right now, my grandson is our priority but when this is over, you will hear from our lawyers."

Oliver had turned his attention back to the video that was being shown to them now in a loop of his son being pulled and push inside a black van with a woman who was unceremoniously dragged inside the van after she was hit with the butt of a gun as well as another little girl who was also pushed inside the van.

He had learned from his sister that the woman was one Felicity Smoak and her daughter Emily who also went to school at the same school and their only apparent involvement was trying to do what the security of the school failed to do, save his son. For their trouble, the mother and daughter were also abducted by the men.

With a nod of his head about ten minutes ago, John Diggle who also served as chief of security of the Queen had already done an extensive background check on Felicity Smoak, at least as extensive as it could go given he had all of fifteen minutes and was now approaching him with what was probably some initial information.

Glancing at his friend and bodyguards tablet, he read through the information that he was already half familiar with. Although he had never met the woman himself, his son had mention an Emily and her mom Felicity on more than one occasion but his information about the woman had largely come from his sister who had interactions already with the woman who apparently owned an up and coming gaming company called Game On, inventors/innovators of those games that were downloaded easily as apps from either the Apple store or from a similar site. She had graduated top of her class at MIT a few years back, had a daughter, no mention of the father, no husband and despite her apparent busy schedule, she religiously dropped off her daughter in the morning then picked her up every afternoon from the school almost making her out as some kind of saint given his sister's stories about how she had on more than one instance been kind and accommodating to his son and how her daughter and his son had a special sibling like bond.

While his eyes were mostly on his son in the video, his eyes were always drawn back to the woman, markedly during the exact moment she was butted by the gun and had fallen to the ground making him clench his fists even harder.

That moment she was pulled into the van, unmindful of how she was angled while unconscious and the vision of his son and her daughter both grabbing any part of her body to embrace told him the familiarity his son had with this woman who had probably put her life and the life of her daughter on the line for his son, when it should have been him. It should have been him.

His son rarely took to anyone outside of the family. It was difficult given who he was and how it was ingrained in him at a very young age to be suspicious of everyone who wasn't family. Such was the curse of being born a Queen. But it was clear even to him that this woman and her daughter had pierced that guarded exterior.

His musings where interrupted by his mother as she once again took his arm, "Oliver son, nothing much can be done here. Let's let the police do their work and head home. The detective thinks that if this were a kidnapping, the men responsible would be getting in touch with you soon for ransom. They need to set-up equipment. I think its best this is done at the Mansion."

Oliver exhaled heavily, knowing that the next few hours and maybe days were only going to get worst, nodding to his mother in agreement.

* * *

It took another four hours until they finally heard from the kidnappers. It was a video message sent to Oliver's phone that showed his son barely holding it together as he mumbled what sounded as prepared words by the men who abducted him demanding twenty million for his safe return and another five million for the mother and daughter within the next twenty four hours or all of them would be dead by the next minute.

His son in a very small and scared voice went on the rattle out instructions when and where the money was to be sent and in the end repeated the threat of what would happen if the instructions were not followed to the detail including excluding the police from hereon in.

The call was abruptly cut, the video fading and not one of the police technicians had been able to decipher anything usable to them, not a location not even a workable behavioral analysis since it was just a recording featuring is son that was sent via a video that had an IP address that was apparently bouncing around the globe and impossible to trace.

In the end the call had netted them nothing but the information the kidnappers wanted them to know.

Moira had asked for all the police including the chief of police who had deemed the Queen's important enough for him to personally supervise, to excuse them for they would have a talk that would include just the family.

"I don't care about the advice of the police or anyone else's advice. That's my son out there so we pay whatever they want!" Oliver all but screamed to his parents who were both patiently looking at him

"I agree." Moira said simply, still poised in her seat.

"I've already made some calls earlier anticipating this may be what they wanted, we can beat the deadline, I'll just have to liquidate some personal assets, we don't want to touch any QC money now since it will involve the board of directors and we are a little pressed for time," Robert told his son as he approached him giving him a pat on the back.

"Thank you Dad," Oliver told him grateful at the support he was getting from his parents.

"Son, you don't need to thank us. Connor is our grandchild. We would do anything for him. You know that. What about the five million they are asking for the woman and her daughter?" Robert asked him.

Oliver looked at his sister then at his Mom before settling on his father, "we should pay that too. We've all seen the video, the only reason she's caught up in this, they're caught up in this was because she was trying to help Connor. There should be no question about that."

Robert nodded, in silent agreement with his son, "I'll get on it immediately. Now, what about the involvement of the police?"

"I think it's very clear. This matter is now between us and the hostage takers, they shouldn't be informed of our next actions," Oliver said firmly.

"I think they would disagree with that," Moira once again inserted.

"At this point, I think I will have to side with our son dear, this is the life of our grandson we are talking about. I will not gamble with it," Robert told his wife sitting down beside her.

Moira gave both the men penetrating looks before she turned too John Diggle who was asked to join them, "John, can you handle that for us?"

"I'll take care of it, it won't be easy." John Diggle said before exiting.

"What about the family or friends of Felicity. Should they be informed especially since it's now out in the news," Thea said as she pointed to the TV set that was open but had the volume turned down.

"I'll handle that, Thea and I will care of it," Moira assured both her children. "I may not have met the woman but from what I have seen with my own eyes, she cares for Connor to let herself be dragged into this."

Oliver nodded twice before he made a beeline for the alcohol needing a tumbler of something.

* * *

The door to the tiny, damp and barely lighted room opened and Connor was pushed unceremoniously inside landing at a heap on the uneven cement floor before the door was shut again with a bang.

Felicity crawled her way to Connor, reaching out to the child.

"Con, are you okay?" Felicity asked him as gently as she could.

"I'm fine. They didn't hurt me, well aside from a lot of shoving and pushing and that slap earlier I mean."

"Come here, why don't you lie down on the bed."

Connor grabbed her hand so he could be aided to stand up but surprised her by saying, "you should take the bed, i saw how hard the man kicked you."

Felicity couldn't help herself, she embraced the boy, "it's nothing I can't handle."

"You shouldn't even be here, you and Em. I'm sorry for getting you caught up in this mess," Connor said to her.

Hearing him say that made Felicity's heart break, "no Con, don't ever think that." She said as she lifted Connor to sit on the tiny bed designed for a child. "This is not your fault. If this is anyone's fault, it's the men who abducted us."

Connor started to sniff, the awareness of what had happened the last few hours finally sinking on.

Felicity placed on arm around Connor and her other one around her own daughter Emily, "we'll be okay. Everything will be okay," whispering the words to the children not sure who she was trying to convince more them or her, giving both children a kiss in the head for comfort.

* * *

John looked on as Oliver pounded away at the punching bag at the Queen Mansion gym. Oliver had been at it for more than thirty minutes not looking like he would be letting up in the next few minutes.

"We're doing everything we can Oliver," John said.

Oliver gave out one more strong punch before he turned to Diggle, "I know you are." Oliver rubbed his face several times, "and I know Dad and Mom are also doing everything they can. I just feel so helpless. He's my son after all. My son! Why am I doing nothing? What kind of father does that make me!"

"Oliver, don't be too hard on yourself. No one could have anticipated something like this happening."

"But he's my son. He must be so scared right now. Thank God that he has someone with him, this Felicity and her daughter. Both of them I don't even know anything about except that they are both with my son right now. This Felicity is probably doing what I should doing right now for my son, doing everything to keep him safe if what we all saw on that video was any reflection of what this woman is capable of. That gives me at least some peace knowing he's with someone like that, that he's not alone."

John eyed his friend for a few long seconds before he answered, "I met her once you know."

Oliver looked up at his bodyguard and good friend with a confused look before he realized who John was referring to, "Felicity?"

"Yeah," John answered him with a smile, "she's definitely something, different, good different, someone who you wouldn't be able to forget meeting. From what I witness myself when she was with her daughter, she's definitely a good mom, a nurturer, maybe that's why Connor took to her so easily. That's a good woman there."

Oliver just nodded absorbing the information John was sharing with him, "I hope I get to meet and thank her personally when this is all over. Between you and Thea singing her praises and Connor being so relaxed with her, looks like i missed out a lot not knowing her."

"Easily resolved when this is over, maybe lunch or something like that with her and her daughter who's like Connor's best buddy, didn't ever think he'd have a girl best buddy who was two years younger than him."

"So perfect mother, highly respected business woman with an eye for the future from what I've read…."

"And easy on the eyes, great sense of humor, the list just goes on," John inserted just to gauge Oliver's reaction.

Oliver shrugged, "and the woman is single you said?"

"Single, unattached, apparently married to her work and dedicated to her daughter," John answered him.

"I may know someone who's cut from the same type of cloth," Oliver gave John his first smile since the news of his son's kidnapping.

John moved forward and tapped the back of his friend twice, "could be a match made in heaven under different circumstances, something to look forward to in the future when this current crisis is resolved. But really, what I meant to tell you earlier, that's why I went looking for you and found you here was this," John Diggle produced a manila folder that Oliver had now only realized John was holding the whole time.

Oliver spent a few minutes going over the documents inside the folder then looked up at John with a new purpose, "these validated?"

John just nodded knowing a response was not necessary as the wheels were already turning in his friend's head.

"This is something I can do, instead of feeling useless," Oliver grabbed his abandoned shirt and hurriedly placed it back on before he turned to his friend, "have some ideas how we approach this?"

Oliver and John were almost out the Mansion door when his sister's voice called him back making his step back into the foyer with a questioning look at her.

"Ollie, I wouldn't even question why you feel the need to leave at this time so I won't," a note of slight reproach on his sister's voice, "but before you go do whatever it is you feel you need to do right now, I'd like to introduce you to the people who Felicity Smoak considers her family in Starling City."

Upon hearing the name of the woman who had occupied his thoughts briefly earlier he had unconsciously stepped forward and was already reaching out a hand to the two men, who looked more like teenagers really, "Oliver, Oliver Queen," shaking both the hands of the men/boys.

"I'm Barry, Barry Allen and this is Cisco, Cisco Ramon," we both work with Felicity.

"She's sort of our boss, but she doesn't want anyone calling her that," Cisco shared with a smile.

"We," Barry cleared his throat, "we heard the news and Ms. Queen…"

"I told you to call me Thea." Thea interjected.

"Sorry, yeah Thea was in our office earlier today and told as a bit of what was happening since we practically new nothing except for what we he heard on the news. The police had also been over earlier today and we couldn't really tell them anything since, we well…..we didn't know anything. Ms. Queen….Thea, was kind enough to invite us over your house…which is a Mansion, it's…"

"Massive…" Cisco inserted this time with a big smile, "I can describe this house in so many words but, massive seems to fit."

Barry nodded at Cisco, momentarily trying to gather his thoughts again after being interrupted, "as I was saying," looking pointedly at Cisco, "Thea invited us over to share more information with us because all we know is that together with your son," waving a loose hand at Oliver, "Felicity and Emily were both taken hostage too. We don't have any idea what to do, do they have demands? Nothing. I'm not really sure how we are suppose to go about that, Felicity doesn't have any relatives in Starling, we are basically her family, hers and Emily's, everyone at the office is."

Oliver looked Barry in the eye, "my sister will give you all the updates you need. You're also welcome to stay over as long as you want to be sure if we have any new information you'll get it immediately too. About any demands or ransom, we will take care of it, anything that the hostage takers would demand for the safe return of both mother and daughter. We will take care of it. They are equally important as my son. You have my word, my family's word on that."

"I'm sorry too, for what happened to your son that is…I know this isn't any easier for you and your family," Barry said solemnly.

Oliver just nodded at Barry then looked his sister for a few seconds, a signal she acknowledged before Thea stepped forward and gently nudged both Barry and Cisco toward the receiving area while giving her brother a look that told him he had some explaining to do later for the disappearing act he was about to pull.


	2. Red

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: First off, I'd like to give everyone who appreciated this story a virtual hug. Special greets go out to those who have left reviews and comments which are all much treasured.  
**

**The usual characters (from Arrow & Flash) have all been introduced in the first chapter already, they will all play a significant role as the story progresses. **

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own anything despite how hard I work, damn.

**STORY PLOT: Oliver Queen is a single Dad with a six year old son Connor. Felicity Smoak is a single Mom with a four year old daughter Emily. One day, Connor is kidnapped at his school. As Felicity together with her daughter attempt to stop it, they got taken as hostages too.**

**Angsty and Dark for a while, but things will get lighter as they always do with Olicity.**

_**Note that Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak have never met, both are single parents and both are important jobs, Oliver running QC as it's CEO and Felicity running her own company Game On. We've already gotten a little background on Connor's story, I will spend sometime on Emily's story (Felicity's daughter) during the next chapter.  
** _

**Send me some love if you like this one. It will inspire me to update the story faster...**

Get in touch with me or read my stories via:

Twitter – lollipopsays

Tumblr – everythinglollipop

Fanfcition - lollipopdiaries

Archive of Our Own - lollipopdiaries

* * *

Chapter 2 – Red

_Red is one of the additive primary colors of light. In Ancient Rome, Red symbolized Blood and Courage. While Red represented triumph, it also meant sin._

_Oliver Queen going into battle to save his son, side by side with Felicity Smoak putting herself several times deliberately between the evil and the innocent are both representations of Blood and Courage…Red._

"At least give us some food, there are children here," Felicity told the man in charge, the same one who had kicked her in the ribs earlier.

"There was just suppose to be one of you before you interfered so you left us a little unprepared with our accommodations and food allocations. Really, it's your fault there isn't enough food to go around for three. You have only yourself to blame," the man said back with sarcasm.

Felicity held the piece of bread that was thrown at them and cut it in half, handing a piece to both of the children then looked at the small bottle of water as if willing it to grow so that there would be enough for three.

"A Queen's meal, aye," the thin man with a scar who brought them the bread and a bottle of water laughed at his own joke before he opened the door to exit adding for good measure, "I'd be saving some of that, it's the last meal we'll be serving. This is not a hotel service after all."

Felicity looked at her watch it was nine o'clock in the evening, seven hours. They have been kidnapped, manhandled and locked up for that long. Felicity watched both the kids hungrily attack the bread, sighing again. There should be something she could do.

Then, she realized there was something she could do. Something she should have done earlier, a lot earlier. Dammit, taking a minute to scold herself. Her watch was one of those nanotech smart wearable watches with built in wifi, a necessary gadget for the kind of business she ran and the kind of lifestyle she led.

Nanotech smart wearable watches was one of those next century innovations that had all the big companies scampering about to capture a large part of the market before brands would start saturate and dominate. She was well aware Queen Consolidated had one such project in the works right now. She kept herself up to date with these things after all.

They had taken her gadgets, her tablet and her phone as well the kids phones but had overlooked her watch, thank God for ignorant kidnapers.

Not wanting to catch more attention that necessary, not being exactly sure that there were no hidden cameras inside the room, she first glanced at both the children who were sitting side by side on the small bed and saw Connor's arm now around Emily, acting like her big brother. Felicity couldn't help but smile seeing this picture despite the circumstances, leaning on the wall as she sat on the floor. She nonchalantly went about pressing a few buttons on her watch, first to activate the built-in wifi, then to turn on the GPS on the watch. While the watch couldn't type out a text, they weren't there yet technology wise, she hoped they could trace the GPS. And by they, she meant her guys at _Game On_ , her company. She knew if they got involved, they'd know her thinking patterns. She just prayed the guys would catch the signal in time.

* * *

"Oliver, I don't think you should be part of this. Let me and the guys handle this one," John told him.

They were in one of QC's abandoned old factories in the Glades, a worn and torn area of the City where John and three of his most trusted men, his own team during his stint in the Army and presently working with him as part of QC's security surrounded Oliver.

"You're not going to talk me out of this," Oliver insisted shaking his head for emphasis.

"I'm just telling you to hold off for the meantime, let me and the guys take care of this. We're just going to pay Carter Brown a visit for now, that all," John told him.

Carter Brown as on the security detail of Connor but whether by design or coincidence, he requested for a day-off earlier today claiming a bum stomach. According to the dossier that John had showed Oliver earlier, there was a suspicion that the hostage takers had planned this and had insider information to execute this efficiently, Carter was John's first suspect to be that inside man of the hostage takers.

The plan was to pay Carter Brown a visit to get information from him. An activity that did not yet have to involve Oliver himself or at least that was what John was insisting.

It was almost midnight, and they had planned to execute their plan at one in the morning to ensure the man they wanted to grill was in his least alert state.

Oliver started to open his mouth again, ready to restart his argument when his phone went off, after glancing at the caller ID, he realized it was his sister again.

"Thea."

"Ollie, I need you to drop whatever it is your doing and come home this instant. We have something, well not yet something, but we might have something," his sister told him talking in riddles.

"Thea, what's this about, I don't have time for this," Oliver answered her impatiently.

"Barry and Cisco, Felicity's friends, they picked up a signal. They're not sure yet, trying to trace its source but they're saying it might be from Felicity. She has one of them nanotech smart wearable watch things, not sure what that's about but they're wearing the same type of watch."

Oliver was not a techie, but being involved in QC and the Applied Sciences projects and its breakthroughs, he had a passing knowledge of what nanotech was, they weren't that advance in terms of research yet at QC, but he knew enough to know the potential of that if Barry and Cisco had been right about the signal they had picked up. Making that decision to head for the Mansion and let John and the others do what they needed to do, he did what _he_ needed to do.

"I'll be right there," told his sister.

* * *

"Got it!" Cisco fist pumped in the air as Oliver, Thea, Barry with Robert and Moira all rushed toward him.

"Where Cisco?" Barry was the first one to post the question on the tip of everyone's tongue.

"A few miles outside of the City, there," he pointed to a beeping signal on his tablet monitor.

"Shouldn't we involve the police? Bring this information to them." Moira asked again.

"Mom, at this point, we're not sure what this is," waving to Cisco's tablet, "yet at the moment. Although I fully trust both Barry and Cisco's theory what this could potentially be. I'm just going to check this out. I'll be fine I promise. I'll bring a few security with me."

Moira gazed skeptically at her son, it wasn't that she didn't trust him but she was well aware of the danger of doing this themselves.

"Oliver, you know I trust you son. We trust you," involving his wife as Robert talked to his son, "the only way your Mom and I would be able to knowingly allow you to do this is if you bring John with you."

Oliver understood were his parents were coming from, John was a professional at his job, plus the family trusted him to do his job explicitly. Knowing that a professional whom they trusted was with their son gave his parents some peace, since their son was going out into the unknown.

Oliver had not yet explained the absence of John and the whole family had been focused on what Barry and Cisco had shared with them a couple of hours ago so the Queen's didn't realize John was missing yet.

Determined not to be stopped, because he knew time was of the essence, he skirted around the issue of John going with him, instead answered vaguely repeated, "I'll bring security with me."

"I don't know why I'm actually saying this because this is soooo not my thing, but you need me to tag along with you," Cisco told Oliver standing up with his tablet.

"You've done more than enough," Oliver told Cisco before he included Barry, "both of you."

"Not quite enough yet, this is only one part of the needed to be done, the easy part. The harder part is not losing the signal, tracking it.. I mean no disrespect when I say I don't think you're really that tech literate to be able to guarantee that if you lose the signal you'd be able to get it back online."

Oliver conceded to Cisco, "thank you, your help is much appreciated."

Cisco turned to Barry saying, "awesome," then realizing the dire circumstances, "I mean any other time it would be awesome but right now, yeah…..let's just go," finishing lamely.

Oliver gave each of his family members a hug before he nodded to Cisco that they were going, "Barry, I hope you can stay awhile longer here, I know that you and Cisco will be constantly in touch, my family would appreciate being informed about any news."

Barry nodded, "I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you," Oliver said solemnly shaking his hand.

Just as Oliver and Cisco reach the pavement of the massive driveway of the Mansion, three cars pulled up with John alighting first.

"Oliver," John said by way of greeting eyeing Cisco before he continued, "where do you think you're going?"

"Cisco and Barry picked up a signal that they think is Felicity's GPS tracker which was built in on her watch, Cisco and I were going to check out the place while Barry stayed with my parents for updates. Now that you're here John, you should join us. I need the update on that guy anyway," Oliver told him vaguely referencing wanting an update about Carter Brown as he stepped into the black SUV followed closely by Cisco.

After pausing at the information Oliver had just thrown at him, John stepped back into the SUV, instructing the other two vehicles to follow them.

* * *

"Here," Thea held out her hands to Barry.

"Oh, yeah…that's, you didn't have to do that, I…" Barry stammered as he took that cup of coffee with shaking fingers from her hands.

"Thank you, that's all you need to say," Thea told him with an eyebrow raised as she sat down beside him, giving him her full appraisal.

"Ummm…thank you," Barry was definitely flustered, "in his world, in their world really, pretty, pretty girls didn't bring him coffee or sat so closely to him that their thighs were touching. And pretty, pretty girls who were heiresses did not definitely put their hand on his thigh like this one was.

With her hand on his thigh, Thea leaned in to see what was on the laptop monitor before she spoke, "how confident are you that was Felicity's nano-GPS, or whatever it's called that you picked up?" Giving her full attention to Barry, her eyes piercing his, "on a scale of one to ten I mean?"

Barry gulped and swallowed twice, i…..don't know what to say….except I know Felicity, she's not just going to give up so easily. I mean, she started her own company from scratch that should tell you something about her character. We're classmates actually, she was a natural leader even then."

Thea fully turned to him, tucking her feet under her, "so you're an MIT graduate too."

"Yeah….," Barry answered her lamely, "Felicity graduated with double majors Cyber Security and Computer Science. I majored in Computer Science, that's how I know Felicity."

"Are you two, where you two…?" Thea let her question float.

Barry understood what she was asking and blushed faintly, "no, we…no, I mean I had a crush on her as did all the other guys in our class, she was totally clueless that she was on every guys radar but that was all it was. She was with a guy," Barry said the last word with distaste, "during her last two years at MIT. It ended terribly, well not so terribly….because well Emily…"

"Emily's father was also from MIT?"

"Yeah, but he didn't graduate. The guy was a freeloader. He wasn't in the league of Felicity. Hell, he wasn't even in my league and I'm way down the ladder compared to Felicity."

Thea looked at Barry from under her lashes leaning in a little closer, "oh I don't know, you look pretty amazing from where I'm looking…..I mean, I can't do what you do, that's for sure. Cute, smart, whatelse are you keeping inside, I wonder?"

Barry stared at Thea, she was teasing, no she was flirting...because that was flirting except he didn't know, he hadn't had any practice lately or, make that never. Barry started to clear his throat twice, trying to make a better impression and stop himself from turning red to no avail. Instead he picked up the cup of coffee that Thea brought him, it was almost three in the morning after all.

* * *

"Found it again, right there," Cisco pointed to a spot that looked like an old building as he stood beside the big blurry men. Between Oliver and John, Cisco looked like he was in the middle of a sandwich, a delicious looking sandwich of course because duh, the three of them together where an awesomely goodlooking sandwich.

"Stay here Cisco, you've done what you needed to do. Harry will keep you company," John gestured to one of the men with them.

"Keep Barry posted so my family will get some updates," Oliver instructed Cisco, squeezing his shoulder in thanks before he joined John.

John and Oliver worked on a plan that had them entering the building at four in the morning, still using the cover of darkness to their advantage in two teams and armed to the teeth, or at least in whatever arsenal of weapons were stashed inside the three black SUVs they had with them.

During the ride, John had shared with Oliver what they had learned from Carter Brown which was a whole lot of nothing because Carter Brown wasn't in his place, although John had left two of his men to stay and look out for Carter in case he suddenly appeared but they did case his place, finding a few pictures of Connor and a few documents, none of them really incriminating except for one document that had a print out schedule of drop and pick times of Connor Queen with the names of security personnel who were posted with Connor and Thea Queen.

By its self, it may not have been incriminating despite some noted as circled ETAs in the scheduled marked with a red pen but that and the timing of the kidnapping had John on high alert.

Right now, John was working on the assumption that Carter Brown as at the very least knew about the planned abduction but had only given the captors schedules.

At exactly four in the morning, two teams, the first team of three led by John who was the assault team entered the building, about ten minutes after, the second team with just Oliver himself and another man, the rescue team entered the building.

The plan was for John's team to attack and deal with the hostage takers so the second team could come in and not worry about surprises and just concentrate on the rescue mission. That was if both Cisco and Barry had been right in the first place and this was where Connor Queen and the mother and daughter Smoak where being held at gunpoint.

Oliver had heard faint sounds of gunfire as he and his lone team member entered the building telling him there were at least hostiles that John and his team were dealing with. He wished that in one of those inner doors he would find his son, he never wished for something more in his life.

So far, Oliver hadn't encountered any direct adversaries although they did see a fallen foe on the ground at the entrance, a very dead foe.

Oliver directed his partner for the moment via finger points deeper into the halls, were he could here faint sounds coming from. He was about to step into a lighted corridor when he sensed a presence, he quickly turned around and aimed his gun only to breath easily when he realized it was just John followed by one of his men aiding the third member of their group who had suffered an injury.

"Mc Neil took two bullets to the leg, I'm going to ask Muzzi to get him out and take him to the nearest hospital. That's leave the two of us and Mossy," John whispered, pointing to the man behind Oliver, Mossy being the temporary partner of Oliver earlier.

Oliver nodded his head, he didn't want to waste anymore time, "how many?"

"We clicked one at the entrance, another at the side entry but we have no way of knowing how many left. I'm sure they heard the gunfire too so prepare for the worst." John said before he led the way deeper into the corridor with only Oliver and the man Mossy.

John held up his hand so the other two knew they should pause as Oliver and John each took a side of the open doorway where they could clearly hear what was being said inside.

"Hurry up man, someone's fuckin' with us," a heavily accented voice said.

"Stay with them Brown," a second voice commanded talking to someone else named Brown. Carter Brown, Oliver and John reached the same conclusion.

Oliver held out three fingers, signaling at there were three men at least. A heavily accented voiced man, another distinguished voice who would later be identified as scarface and someone called Brown, at least three men. John nodded his agreement. With only fingers and eyes as means of communication, John and Oliver were able to set up a plan that had John and Mossy going in with guns blazing while Oliver was to follow behind, his focus was on rescue.

Since they had the slight element of surprise with them, John was able to have the advantage immediately hitting scarface in the shoulder sending him flying because of the force of the impact.

The heavily accented man was however quickly able to retaliate with gunfire, pushing Brown out of the way as he entered a door sending Brown right into the peripheral of John and Mossy who each took the opportunity to put one bullet each into his chest.

Oliver quickly skidded across and pulled the door to the room that mister heavy accent entered his body and mind shutting out the exchange of gunfire still happening outside the door.

"Mr. Queen this is quite unexpected," mister heavy accent greeted him, pulling Connor in front of him and aiming the gun at the little boy's temple.

"Let go of the boy," Oliver's eyes were firmly on the man, he couldn't be distracted by his son or the others at the moment.

"And why should I do that?"

"All your men are down, while my men are still standing. This can end only in two ways, with you alive and facing the consequences of your action or you joining your comrades and their fate."

Mister heavy accent snickered, "ah but you see, either way, the fate of young mister Connor may not be so good. All it takes is just one bullet to the brain and puff, his little life is gone…." pressing the gun even closer to Connor's temple before he cocked it.

Sensing that seriousness of the taunt of the man Oliver tried to bargain with him, "look it doesn't have to end that way. Why don't you just lower your gun and I'll lower mine. No one else needs to get hurt."

While the conversation was ongoing, Felicity had embraced Emily to her side, but had stood still since Oliver was blocking the door and mister heavy accent was just five feet from her. She instead watched every little movement of mister heavy accent.

"I'm going to step forward," Oliver declared before he did as he said until. Mister heavy accent stopped him.

"Don't come any closer or I will put a bullet to your son's brain," he said, briefly pointing the gun at Oliver then placing it back the next second on Connor's temple.

Oliver stopped mid-step just barely six feet away from his son, briefly taking his eye away from his son's captor to appraise the state of his son before he made a decision that would tip the scale, which direction? He was hoping, his.

One second he was just standing still sweeping a glance at mister heavy accent the next he was lunging for the man. The surprise on mister heavy accent's face was enough distraction to tilt the balance in favor of Oliver as he pushed his son to one side leaving the man behind open for attack.

While Connor had landed hardly on the floor to mister heavy accent's left and Felicity and Emily remained frozen on the right, Oliver and the man had struggled against one another, both of them focused on the physical fight as they both lost their guns upon contact.

At first, Oliver had gained the upper hand, pummeling the other man with his fists, if Oliver had any advantage it was with his fists, especially now that adrenalin was coating him. The other man however obviously had some training, able to hold his own as the advantage shifted from one man to the other.

Felicity took that opportunity to run across the room, pulling her daughter with her as she reached for Connor's hand with her other, momentarily forgetting her own injured ribs.

The other man found his second wind and kicked Oliver painfully in the groin giving him time to reach for a gun that was about seven feet away from him.

Everything happened in slow mo at that point, at least in the eyes of Oliver, as mister heavy accent grabbed a gun and in a split second pointed the gun at him before smirking and moving the gun to now point it at Connor.

Oliver tried to stand up, he was about ten feet away from mister heavy accent and even further away from his son be he thought he could make it, lunging again for the man with the gun but missing him a few feet his vision tunneled as he heard the gun go off and transferred his look to were his son was.

Oliver would never be able to forget what happened next, during the next few days he would rewind this in his mind frequently.

All he saw was red, a lot of red.


	3. Double Edged Sword

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Overwhelmed by the response to this story.  
**

**This story gets momentarily happy and sassy but darkness still clouds our beloved Olicity in the forwarding chapters.**

DISCLAIMER: Still don't own anything despite how hard I work, damn.

**STORY PLOT: Oliver Queen is a single Dad with a six year old son Connor. Felicity Smoak is a single Mom with a four year old daughter Emily. One day, Connor is kidnapped at his school. As Felicity together with her daughter attempt to stop it, they got taken as hostages too.**

**Angsty and Dark for a while, but things will get lighter as they always do with Olicity.**

_**Note that Oliver Queen and Felicity Smoak have never met, both are single parents and both have important jobs, Oliver running QC as it's CEO and Felicity running her own company Game On. We've already gotten a little background on Connor's story, I will spend sometime on Emily's story (Felicity's daughter) in future chapters.  
** _

**Send me some love if you like this one. It will inspire me to update the story faster...**

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* * *

Chapter 3 – Double Edged Sword

_When something can have both favorable and unfavorable consequences, the term Double Edged Sword is usually used to describe it._

_Oliver felt relief knowing that his son was safe but at what expense, the woman who had done nothing but protect his son did not deserve to be the one suffering and in pain._

Everything happened in slow mo at that point, at least in the eyes of Oliver, as mister heavy accent grabbed a gun and in a split second pointed the gun at him before smirking and moving the gun to now point it at Connor.

Oliver tried to stand up, he was about ten feet away from mister heavy accent and even further away from his son but he thought he could make it, lunging again for the man with the gun but missing him a few feet, his vision tunneled as he heard the gun go off and transferred his look to were his son was.

Oliver would never be able to forget what happened next, during the next few days he would rewind this in his mind frequently.

Felicity recognized that Oliver was too far out and missed his chance to stop the man with the gun. She heard the shot go off and knew it was aimed for Connor. Without even comprehending what she was doing, she leaned into Connor intending to push him out of the way but totally miscalculated how many milliseconds she had to get herself out of the way, _for a genius that was a dumb move_ was her last thought as everything faded to black for her.

* * *

"I'm not leaving!" Connor stubbornly told his father, his aunt and his grandparents while still clutching Emily's hand in his.

Moira glanced at her grandson then at her son as if wanting some support then finding none transferred back her attention to her grandson, "Connor honey, you need to rest, both of you. Emily will be coming home with us too."

"I don't….." Barry started to protest, thinking it was his responsibility now that Felicity was momentarily unavailable to care for her child as she was currently still sleep induced, allowing her to recover from her gunshot wound.

"I'm not leaving my Mom!" This time it was Emily who protested, nevermind she looked like an extra from the Walking Dead at the moment, she wasn't leaving her Mom even if her Mom was asleep, or at least that is what Uncle Barry and Uncle Cisco said she was doing.

Oliver finally took a stand, seeing all the others were getting nowhere convincing both children what was best for them. It was the least he could do for the woman for what she had done for him and his son.

Walking toward both Connor and Emily who were seated side by side holding hands, he had to pause and exhale at the picture that painted. True, his sister, even John had told him how close the children were to one another but he was seeing for himself for the first time just what kind of bond these two had.

At age six, his son was remarkably mature therefore he hadn't had to resort to baby talk or sugarcoat anything, "Connor, the doctor said that Felicity won't wake up until tomorrow so staying here won't make a difference." Connor turned to Emily who was shaking her head and this was what Connor used as he tried to reason with his Dad. Seeing that Connor was taking his cue from the little girl, Oliver switched his attention to her.

"Emily, with all the confusion earlier, I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm Connor's Dad," he held out his hand to Emily who was looking at him skeptically, turning to Connor and waiting for the boy's nod as if to say it's okay before she took the offered hand.

Oliver just gazed at the little hand enveloped in his almost disappearing into his large one and did not even bother to question his urge to protect the little girl like she was his own. What her mother did, it would forever cement their standing as honorary members of the Queen family. Proof of that was his whole family, Robert, Moira and Thea all chose to stay a few more hours even after knowing that his son was safe to vigil for the woman who had no blood ties, whether by affinity or consanguinity with the Queens.

Still crouched down so he could be at eye level with the little girl he continued, "I know you want to stay with your Mom, but she's resting right now. You should be resting too, both you and Connor. If your Mom were awake, she would most probably be telling you the same thing. I know you don't know any of us, except Connor here and my sister Thea, but I think it's best for both you and Connor to rest for a few hours back at the house, Thea will take you. I promise you your Mom won't be alone," Oliver said that part while squeezing the little girl's hand, "I'll stay here, someone will be with her at all times."

Blue eyes looked back at him, for a four year old girl she had eyes that seemed wise beyond her years, eyes that could penetrate into his soul, scrutinizing him, assessing him and hopefully not coming to the conclusion that he fell short. After a few more seconds of staring she finally switch her glance to Connor who quietly said, "I'll go with whatever you decide Em."

"I want to be here when she wakes up," Emily asked Oliver, "she doesn't know you, I don't want her to wake up with a stranger in her room." Emily leaned closer to Oliver and whispered, "She's not as brave as she wants everyone to think," as if she was sharing a state secret.

"Em, can I call you Em?" As she nodded Oliver continued, "it's already about six in the evening. The doctors said the earliest your Mom could wake up will be by mid morning, by that time you will be back here. If she wakes up earlier and you're not here, I promise to call home and have you brought back here immediately."

Emily looked at Connor's Dad, truth was amongst everyone that surrounded her, next to Connor, she felt a kinship with him even more so than with the people she had met previously, over Thea and John Diggle, who were both among the people gathered.

"Okay, but you have to pinkie promise me that you'll call as soon as Mom wakes up and I'm not here," Emily told him.

Not even knowing what the hell a pinkie promise was he merely nodded and was confused as Emily puller her hand away from his and stuck out her smallest finger making Oliver realize that this was her pinkie finger but not yet knowing how to go about making a pinkie promise. This was probably her version of the secret handshake he and Connor had between them.

Thankfully his son put him out of his misery by explaining the mechanics to him, "just stick out your pinkie finger and wrap it around hers."

Oliver dutifully did as his son instructed, feeling a little awkward at what he was doing for a second until he caught the little girl's bright smile and tightened his pinkie finger around hers at the same time repeating his earlier statement, "I promise to call."

At the next second Emily let go of his finger and launched herself into his arms surprising him as he lost his balance landing on his butt on the hospital floor with little Emily's arms still around his neck and him instinctively wrapping his large arm around her small frame.

"Okay," Emily leaned in a little bit closer to him to whisper something to his ear, "you're handsome," giggling as she pushed him a little away.

For some reason this made Oliver smile and feel light headed, he had a feeling he was even blushing a little at her compliment. Women five to fifteen times her age telling him the same thing left him indifferent, but this four year old just made him blush as he scooped her in his arms, nodding to Connor who was grinning at him like he was in on a secret as together they made for his sister and mother.

A few minutes later it was just Oliver and a sleeping Felicity that was left. Before Emily finally allowed herself to be led away, she had asked him to bring her to her mother's side to give her mother a soft peck on the cheek saying as she turned back to Oliver, "she looks like Sleeping Beauty doesn't she, waiting for her prince to wake her up with a kiss. Are you her prince?"

One thing Oliver learned about Emily in the span of a few hours was that the girl was cheeky, in the short time that his parents Robert and Moira had seen the little girl, she already had them, his sister and even John wrapped around her little finger. There was no question that even he had fallen victim to the charms of the little girl. No wonder Connor stuck to her like glue, he had a feeling long after this nightmare was over they would be seeing a lot of Emily, and her mother by extension.

Now that it was just him in the room, he pulled a chair bringing him closer to the woman his son had taken a liking to appraising her not for the first time, but this time with deliberate detail.

Emily was right when she described her Mom as Sleeping Beauty. The woman was definitely a beauty despite the tubes and wires that surrounded her. While she was pale, Oliver could clearly see that she had good skin, healthy blond hair that had natural curls around the edges, a small nose just like her daughter's, her eyes were obviously closed but he was sure they were the color of deep blue, just like the ocean, he could probably drown in them. And her lips, the full luscious lips although lipstickless drew his gaze back to them again and again.

Early in the day, he didn't have time to question the pull he had toward the daughter and if he was honest, the mother. Now that it was just him and the woman, he had all the time in the world to examine it.

After the Queens had left, Barry and Cisco had stepped forward to tell him that they would be fine staying with Felicity for the night, take turns because the hospital only allowed one person to stay.

Oliver had gently but firmly said no to them and both Barry ad Cisco had looked at him with confusion probably thinking that since he really didn't know Felicity at all, he was under no obligation to be the one to stay.

Oliver convinced them that he was fine staying overnight finally watching both the guys walk away before he stepped inside Felicity's room.

He lifted his hand and traced her cheek with his thumb and thought he saw her move her cheek millimeters to where the solid warmth of his palm rested encouraging him to continue stroking her cheek. While he was doing that, he let his mind wander back to the event of that early morning.

_Oliver heard the shot go off and a second later a grunt sounded then what sounded like a body hitting the floor but his attention was on the man who still held the gun, finding the strength to make one last dive for the man before he would be able to fire off a second bullet until seconds or maybe minutes later he heard John's voice telling him to go to his son and that he got this._

_It took him a few seconds to focus before he spotted his son and the little girl both kneeling down and screaming the name of the woman who, as he stepped closer was covered in blood._

_He told his son to move out of the way as he went about trying to locate were all the blood was coming from with his hands, finally locating the source when the woman gave out a loud moan._

_"_ _How is she?" he heard John's voice from afar._

_"_ _One gunshot wound, I can't see an exit wound. Upper chest, almost at the shoulder, hopefully it didn't hit any bone or artery. But there's a lot of blood John, a lot of blood."_

_"_ _I already called 911 and the police," John said._

_"_ _Is Mommy going to be okay? I tried calling her but she wouldn't wake up," a scared little voice interrupted Oliver and John's conversation._

_Connor quickly moved to the other side so he could be beside Emily before saying, "Dad's here. He'll take care of your Mom. He won't let anything happen to her," then turned to his Dad, "won't you Dad?"_

_Normally, he didn't make promises he knew he might not be able to keep, even more importantly, he didn't know yet the gravity of the woman's injuries expect for his initial appraisal to actual make a promise aside from the gunshot wound. He knew she had either bruised or broken ribs because of the video they had all seen yesterday. Beyond that he wasn't sure what other injuries she had incurred in trying to protect his son._

_Seeing his son's swollen cheek, he was sure his son was slapped at least once but that was the extent of his injuries as far as Oliver could tell. Looking at the little girl, he was sure aside from swollen eyes which would be the result of crying, he didn't notice any injuries. He was sure that it was because of the woman who now laid on the floor unconscious with a bullet wound that the children were relatively unharmed._

_So when his son asked him to promise the woman's daughter to not let anything else happen to her, he uncharacteristically told his son and the woman's daughter that yes, he wouldn't let anything else happen to her earning him a raised brow from John who was quietly listening.  
_

_Since children were not allowed to ride in the ambulance, John had trailed the ambulance with a SUV which had both kids with him. Cisco and another one of the Queen's security men followed in another SUV while Oliver road the ambulance with Felicity._

_At first, the EMTs looked at Oliver funny, recognizing him but his scathing attitude telling the EMTs to focus on the injured woman had them immediately acting professional._

_Reaching the hospital ER, Oliver was infuriated to see a number of press already gathered around and taking photos of everything. All it took was a look to John and after John ushered the kids toward Cisco to catch up with Oliver who was rushing to keep up with the gurney. John with the aid of another of the Queen security and some hospital security tried to tell the press too pull back._

_Oliver had been pacing the halls of the ER, with the kids seated huddled together beside a sleepy Cisco when his sister rushed in followed by his parents and Felicity's co-worker Barry._

_"_ _Ollie!"_

_Oliver tuned to his sister in time to catch her embrace as she continued to talk as she pulled away from him, "how is she, how's Felicity?"_

_"_ _She's in emergency surgery. They rolled her in about fifteen minutes ago. I don't know how long things like these take. The doctor said that a nurse would come out to update us as soon as they can."_

_"_ _Is it, is she…the news is reporting several bullet wounds," Thea asked him with a break in her voice._

_"_ _Speedy, it's just one bullet, as far as I could tell it's not fatal but the bullet is still inside her. The doctor also did a quick check before the surgery and said she had one broken rib and a couple of bruised ones. That's all I know."_

_Thea nodded, accepting he information her brother shared as she turned to her parents and Barry who all heard what Oliver had just shared, "so we wait."_

_"_ _Yes, we wait," Oliver acknowledged his sister and just as all the others grabbed seats he resumed his pacing of the floor._

Oliver was woken by something, he wasn't sure what and was a little disoriented to notice he was seated and not lying down on a bed which was normally how he slept. Something hard and cold was on his temple, something that was moving a little making him lift his head a little to venture a peak surprised to find his hand entwined with the one that was touching his temple just a few seconds ago.

He heard a throat clearing although it sounded more like an injured horse than an actual human throat and realized where he was- _hospital, bullet wound, Felicity…..entwined hands_? When did that happen? She was obviously asleep so it was purely his doing gently removing his hand from hers earning a meow from her making him look up into the deepest blue eyes he had every laid eyes on. He was right, she had beautiful deep blue eyes shaking his head to get him out of what he concluded was a trance like state.

"Ummm….hey," nice one Oliver, he told himself.

"Hey," the woman answered, giving the room an assessment before she turned back to him giving him her full attention, "who are you and where am I?"

Oliver didn't know what egged him to stand up from his chair and reposition to sit down on the side of her bed bringing him closer to her before he answered her, "I'm Oliver Queen, Connor's Dad," he noted her eyes widening a bit hearing his name, "and you're at Starling General Hospital. Do you remember anything of what happened?"

Felicity frowned in concentration, making her eyebrows merge in the middle and her eyes squint which Oliver for some reason found cute on her, making his mind wander once again before realizing she was already answering his question.

"…trying to pull Con to the door and then I felt something hot on my shoulder then nothing."

Trying not to alarm the woman, he didn't know her after all so he had no idea how she would react, "you where hit by a bullet intended for my son. You pushed him out of the way and caught the bullet which makes me equally grateful for what you did for my son and at the same time sorry that you had to take a bullet for your trouble. It's not everyday you get to meet someone who was willing to sacrifice for another that was not family."

Felicity lifted a hand to try to touch her injury before she answered, "a life is always important, family or not. Besides, Connor, he's like a son to me. I know it's kind of weird for me to be telling you that, you being his Dad and all, but that's the truth."

"And I'm thankful for that, don't get me wrong. What you did, I saw the video of you trying to stop my son from being kidnapped and also some of the footage in that room, I will forever be grateful for what you did."

"No thanks needed. It's Connor, he's safe. I will heal and my daughter….where's Emily?" Felicity noticed for the first time that Emily wasn't in the room.

Oliver quickly reassured Felicity, "she's okay, she's fine. She's with my sister and my parents at home. I thought that both she and Connor could have a good night's rest and promised her, pinkie swore with her that I'd call as soon as you woke up which is what I should be doing right now."

Felicity broke out into a smile as Oliver shared what her Emily made Oliver Queen, CEO of QC, no.1 bachelor with a face that could launch a million apps or should that be ships, she was confused, rightfully so she just wasn't sure if it was still from her injuries or because of the man who was giving her his full attention although she went with the former for her own sanity, do.

"A pinkie promise? That means you made her list. She only breaks out the pinkie with a certain number of people."

"Yeah," Oliver felt like blushing again at the knowledge he was one of a selected few in the eyes of the little girl, "I better give my sister a call then so they can make their way here as soon as possible, wouldn't want to be off that list."

Felicity tilted her head to one side and gave him a wide smile looking adorable to him, despite her current state making him grin back at her.

* * *

"Okay then, Mommy is going home, to our cozy little place and our even cozier bed where we could do a marathon of your Disney favorite movies," Felicity told her daughter Emily who was seating beside her on the hospital bed as the doctor left the room, "except I don't think I have any clothes to change to."

"All taken cared of," Barry told her lifting the bag in his hand as emphasis.

"Um…actually, we…" Oliver started to say something but paused not knowing how to word what he was about to suggest.

Thea looked pointedly at her brother, giving him a look as if to say coward as she picked up from her brother, "Felicity, I think it's best if you spend the next few days with us. At least until you're full recovered because that," pointing to her taped ribs and the hidden bandage beneath her hospital gown where yesterday a bullet was lodged, "is going to cramp your style a bit."

"Oh…no, I mean thank you but, no. I don't want to impose on any of you more than necessary. Em and I will be perfectly okay. We'll have Barry and Cisco and some of the others who I hope will lend a few helping hands during the next week."

"Actually…." Barry started to say guiltily making Felicity narrow her eyes at him as if to say traitor.

Thea giggled before she rolled her eyes at the men in the room who seemed afraid to tell the woman lying on the bed definitively that she wasn't going to go back to her cozy home at all, at least not for a week. Rather she and Emily would be spending the next week recuperating at the Queen Mansion.

"It's already been decided, Mom is waiting at home. She had the right wing opened up for you and Emily to give you a little privacy. It's the least we could do. The press already got access to your identity and Emily's" Thea continued frowning, "it's best that you're in a controlled environment. The press could be relentless. Besides," she went in for her killer argument, "Emily and Connor would love to spend a few more days together, right Em?"

The little girl nodded enthusiastically at Thea before she shouted a yes, "Con has his own private playground for just him and me….please Mom…."

Felicity looked at the pleading face she could never say no to then back at Barry with accusing eyes again making him step back at the reprimand then back to Thea, "I guess I'm moving in, not moving in…just staying for a few days, not moving in."

Thea grinned like a cat that caught a canary as if she knew a secret that no one else knew, mischief clearly written all over her face as she looked from Felicity to her brother who had his eyes still on Felicity then back to Felicity. Oh, she had a week to make this work and she was going to make this happen.


	4. A Taste of What Life Could Be

**Author's Note: I can't thank all of you enough for the kind words and continued support. Writing this has been my pleasure as words flow easily when Olicity is in the picture not to mention that I got a lot of inspiration from the release of that Arrow Season 4 trailer, kickass Felicity!**

**This is a bit of a light chapter with lots of Olicity goodness. Like I said things get a little sunny again before darkness falls in the next few chapters again.**

**As usual, no matter how hard I work, I still don't own anything Arrow related.**

**Appreciate your follows and comments, drop me a line if you have the time. You can also check out my other stories in any of the following forums:**

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**Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 4 – A Taste of What Life Could Be

_A Window into a life that could be, life had taken them into a direction that neither one of them every thought would be possible not only because they were two people too different to ever meet but because this wasn't how life was suppose to play out with the kind of pasts they each had._

_But what could be, a glimpse of the rest of what the of his life could be had Oliver vowing to himself that he would do anything and everything in his power to make it happen. They both deserved it._

"Mommy look! My room overlooks the gardens, it's so preeeetty!" Emily said as she twirled around the baby pink painted room repeatedly. Although sparsely furnished, it looked like it was designed exactly for someone like little Emily in mind, little did Felicity know that indeed, Thea had whipped up a little girls room in under two days with the approval of her brother dear and she gave herself a little pat on the back because, my god, she really did outdo herself, job well done.

Felicity couldn't help but be infected by her smile finding herself smiling at her little girl before she turned to the siblings Oliver and Thea who were both still watching Emily twirl around with gentle expressions as Connor interrupted her mid-twirl to say, "your room is right opposite mine so if you need anything just knock and Dad's room is right beside your Mom's."

At this information Felicity turned back to Thea almost giving herself a whiplash, "I thought you said we'd be at another wing altogether. Not that I'm complaining or anything, this must be quite an imposition on our part."

Thea stepped forward her instinct was to appease the woman who was suddenly flustered with the accommodation changes, "that was the original plan but I….we, that's Mom," leaving out her brother just because it could potentially be awkward, "and me thought it best to keep the children as close to one another as possible, unless you'd prefer other rooms that is?" Thea finished knowing she had a winning argument that even Felicity couldn't challenge. It was mostly her idea really her mother had just gone along with her plans, seeing right thru them. All her Mom did really was to give her daughter a look that bordered on a hint of approval to know that though she didn't really say anything, she knew she had her Mom's blessing to run interference if and only if her brother had his head buried so deep inside his ass and messed this up.

Felicity instead switched her attention to Oliver, "is this okay?"

"As long as you're okay with it, I'm fine with it. The kids seem to be happy with the arrangements," Oliver said not giving anything else away as all of them just watched both Connor and Emily sprinting across the hallway to Connor's room before the door closed definitively.

_Yup, her brother wasn't even trying to hide it. Thea thought her brother would be difficult about this, but no, her brother was perfectly fine with the arrangement. Her brother who had desperately craved for privacy inside the Queen Mansion was fine with 'sharing' his wing with the mother and daughter._

_Before Connor came, the Queen family all shared a wing. With Connor's arrival Oliver had given his family a choice, his own wing or he and Connor would move out, he got his own wing._

_Oliver had reasoned that since he spent all of his time running QC for the family, what little time he had for himself, he wanted that to be spent with Connor and after work was the only time left. Thus, the private wing worked for them._

_Since the wing had originally been a guest wing, it also housed a few other rooms that have now been upgraded to contain a living, dining and a private kitchen as well as a small office space and a private gym as well as two smaller adjoining rooms that have never been used, the same ones that were now occupied by both Felicity and Emily._

Thea continued showing Felicity the rooms, "there's a connecting door," pointing to a hidden door, "that connects to your room just in case." Giving both her brother and Felicity one final appraising glance Thea stepped back and made her exit but not before reminding all of them that dinner was in a couple of hours. Thea figured her brother could handle being alone with Felicity for a few minutes without messing all her good work up.

With just Felicity and Oliver left in what was Emily's temporary room the awkwardness of earlier returned.

"I'll just," Felicity pointed to the connecting door before she self-consciously stepped toward the door but not before turning back to Oliver one last time, "are you sure this is okay? I….we," correcting herself to include her daughter, "don't want to cramp your style or anything."

Oliver stepped past Felicity brushing her arm in the process, sending electricity coursing through her insides, "Felicity," Oliver responded to the unexpected opening she had given him, opening the connecting door to her room, "let's make one thing very clear, there is no style to cramp if that's your way of fishing if I'm currently seeing someone."

Caught and cornered Felicity felt herself blush, while it was intended to a perfectly innocent question, she realized that the question did mean a lot of different somethings that had her trying to back-peddle, "oh, I wasn't, I'm not…..I wouldn't…."

Oliver raised a brow and lifted one corner of his lips at her jumble of words deciding to ignore her guff and move on, "I think this is a better alternative anyway, I've also taken a few days off here and there, after what happened, I want to spend a few days with my son too. I think the kids would love to spend a few days together, if that's okay with you?"

Cringing internally at spending a lot of time with Starling City's number one bachelor, she hesitated.

"Felicity?" Oliver questioned again.

"Yeah, that's okay. I think." Adding to herself, _I'm so going to regret this_.

* * *

Felicity had lain down on the bed. The softest bed she's ever laid down on thinking this was how the one percenters really lived the life of luxury and opulence. Something she hoped she never would get accustomed to seeing that her 'vacation' was all of one week then she and Emily would have to go back to the reality of their lives and the Queens would all be a distant memory. Well maybe not so much in Emily's case, the Queens, even the matriarch herself Moira had taken to her little girl so quickly. Come to think of it, even Robert and Moira had been more than pleasant to her. She had even caught the husband and wife give each other secret looks while conversing with her something that left her uneven.

Thea had been quite right when she said the press had been relentless, she didn't expect the mob that was waiting for them at the entrance. If it wasn't for the combined forces of the Queen private security, the hospital security and the SCPD police, she knew it would have taken much longer and lot more bruises before she, her daughter and the Queen family could have exited the hospital. Talk about absolute mayhem. If this was how the one percent lived, she didn't want any part of it.

She had briefly turned on the tv and found her face plastered all over the news. Some painted her as a hero, a lot more painted her as an opportunist and some others as a gold-digger. Obviously, none of them knew the real her, she practically chanted that mantra to herself to not be affected. After listening for a few minutes she decided to turn the tv off instead she checked her mails and logged into her company's secure backdoor site to check on the developments. Much as she wanted to down all the satellites of those tv stations and corrupt the websites of those gossip sites, because she was perfectly capable of doing all those in the first place, she resisted and instead focused her mind on something that gave her positivity, her company, _Game On_.

She was a little surprised to find a few emails from investor groups wanting to set up meetings with her to discuss capital infusion and a couple of other inquiring if she had plans to sell some public stocks in the near future. Apparently, getting involved with the Queens increased her company's reputation and stock value, a fact that had Felicity rolling her eyes. She worked hard to get her company were it was today, it looks like just her name being whispered side by side with the Queens had doubled the interest in her company of twenty employees most of whom had just graduated a year earlier from her alma mater, MIT.

During the first three days at the Queen Mansion, the four of them had quickly picked up a routine of sort.

They would all breakfast together in the smaller dining area of Oliver and Connor's private wing, breakfast that was prepared by Raisa, the family cook, then the kids would spend the rest of the morning playing in the gardens or some video games, hers mostly.

Oliver would spend three to four hours in his small office still inside their wing, overlooking the gardens where the he could see the kids playing while doing CEO things like answering emails or fielding calls from around the world that couldn't wait 'til next week.

Felicity for her part had gotten used to using Oliver's small round conference table as her own 'office' where she too worked on things that couldn't wait until she was physically able to report back to work. Stuff like fixing coding for new apps that were in the works, checking her emails and yes, fielding calls from her own investors.

She had discovered little things about Oliver that normally she would have never had the opportunity to, like how he took his coffee was varied. His first cup of coffee in the morning was black then, his 'office' coffee would then be watered down to include a dash of milk and a tea spoon of sugar with sprinkles of cinnamon.

Oliver also apparently loved scones. Something they had in common. Raisa brought freshly baked scones for Oliver and now her, after Emily had ratted her out to both Oliver and Raisa as also having a weakness for them together with their morning coffee.

They would take a break for lunch which would be by the indoor heated pool side where after a few minutes of rest, the kids would jump into and spend a couple of hours playing while Oliver would do his laps on the pool with Felicity, who was still bandaged lounging near the pool tinkering with her tablet.

Oliver would then disappear for a couple of hours to the gym it was later revealed by Connor, then would reappear to spend the rest of the day with his son and by extension Emily and her.

Felicity also had the opportunity to see firsthand how Oliver had developed a relationship with Emily. It was weird that for minutes in the day, Connor would be by her side, fully engrossed as they talked about computers and the games her company had developed, tinkering with her tablet while she watched from her peripheral vision as Oliver patiently 'played' with Emily, pushing her at the swings, lifting her for the monkey bars, and generally just being her 'playmate' at the private playgrounds of the Queen Mansion.

To any outsider, they made the perfect picture of a family, a father, a mother and two young children. During one afternoon, Moira had made a stop at the Queen Mansion having forgotten an important file she had been reviewing the previous night. As she passed the bay window that opened up to the gardens she saw the four of them, and not for the first time stared wistfully at the picture they painted.

Despite the not so good circumstances of how her son and Felicity had met, she had no doubt in her mind that the mother and daughter were good for her son and grandson and she only wished the best for her son, exhaling a breath as she took one last look at them before she turned away.

* * *

While the bandage on her ribs had come out midweek, the one on her shoulder still stayed on hence all she could do was lounge around while Connor, Emily, Thea and Oliver all horsed around in the Queen pool which as a large indoor heated pool.

This was the first afternoon that Thea had joined them making her presence known by immediately jumping into the deep end of the pool eliciting laughs and giggles from the children. She had never seen Emily so carefree and happy knowing this was really good for her. After the trauma that they had been through, this was an excellent respite, reminding herself to thank the Queens before they left.

Something was dripping on her left side. She looked up to see Oliver give her a cheeky smile. The man had a lot of teeth, really white ones was her thought.

When he took the lounger beside her he was still smiling, "come on, it's not fair that you're just lazily lounging here while all four of us are in the pool."

Felicity pointed to her still bandaged shoulder.

Oliver gestured to her sundress which she wore on top of her bikini which she found amidst the things packed for her hoping it wasn't one of the boys who actually packed her stuff and went through her lingerie collection, a girl had to maintain a level of privacy and dignity after all. She had a strong suspicion that due to the type of clothes that she found, her sexy vacation dresses, a couple of very short shorts, three bikinis and the choice of lingerie that was packed that Thea actually had a hand in the selection.

A throat that cleared brought her out of her reverie and back to reality as Oliver continued to point to her dress.

"What?" Felicity asked him innocently.

"I promise you, I won't let your bandaged shoulder get wet," Oliver told her his expression unreadable.

"Mommy, come join us!" Emily shouted with encouragement.

"The pool's heated, it would help with the ribs," Oliver tried to give her one more incentive.

Much later she would later ask herself why, because not only did she take her sundress off showing her bikini body, she allowed Oliver to carry her in his strong, manly, muscle-y, capable hands into the pool enjoying the heat the pool gave out as Oliver continued to carry her in his arms until they were chest level in the pool and he could put her feet levelly down on the pool floor.

"That's better right?" Oliver told her and all she could do was nod her head in agreement feeling how the waters were soothing her injuries.

She had closed her eyes for maybe a minute feeling the heat of the pool do wonders for her bruised ribs and open them when she noticed nothing but quiet around turning just in time to see the retreating backs of Thea and the children, _traitors!_

Very much aware that now it was just Oliver and her in the pool she tried to take a few steps to exit the pool but heard the rush of water behind her.

A large hand clasped her arm, "don't go yet, the heated water will help with," gesturing to her ribs trying not to stare at her bikini clad body which was almost incandescent now that she was recovered from most of her injuries. "The kids charmed Thea again for some of Raisa's homemade ice cream. Just stay for a few more minutes, I told Em to leave some ice cream for us, mint choco chip I believe?"

Felicity hesitated again, she felt a little awkward around Oliver largely because she was sure she wasn't imagining that Oliver had spent time flirting with her and it wasn't even when it was just the two of them. A number of times, he had given her more attention that necessary in the presence of his parents too, earning them another one of those knowing looks again between his parents.

"Felicity," Oliver exhaled heavily, uncharacteristically nervous as he turned to face her, "I know I've said it several times already but thank you," closing his eyes in remembrance of what he was feeling. "I've wanted to ask you out to dinner for several days now but honestly, you make me nervous," he shared snorting at the unfamiliar feeling of uncertainty and honesty.

"I make you nervous?" Felicity asked in a voice that was heavy with disbelief.

"Yeah you do," exhaling heavily, "I've never met anyone like you."

Felicity frowned, "but there are a million girls just like me. I'm no different from them." Felicity eyed Oliver, "or maybe I'm just not the kind of girl you're used to. Not sophisticated or a world class model or something, I'm just me."

Oliver nodded as if it was the answer, "you're partially right, you're different…..good different," he quickly added seeing her disappointed look thinking he was nodding and agreeing to her not being sophisticated or model like. "You're unexpected and I'm just unsure how to go about….this."

"Oliver, you don't have to, the dinner I mean. You've already said thank you several times and this," gesturing around them, "this is a dream vacation for Em. I don't really need your thanks, I'd do it again, Connor's worth it."

At the mention of how this woman already cared for his son like she was his own, he lifted his hand not sure what he intended to do with embarrassment he placed his hand down again, splashing some water in the process.

"It's not just about what you did for Connor, me asking you to dinner is not about that, it's about something more. I know you feel it too, this," gesturing between them.

"Oliver," lowering her gaze and catching the abs that were exposed making her inhale and look somewhere else, "I don't know what to say except maybe not to make this more difficult for either of us. What you're feeling, it may just be gratitude or something like that. At the end of the week, all this will be in the past for me. My real reality would be what I'll have to face, me and Emily and my company. I can't….I can't allow myself any wishful thinking. I have Emily, she's always my priority with what happened between me and her Dad….it's been simpler to just be me and my girl."

"No complications?"

"None," swallowing hard as she answered him.

"What if I prove to you that me and Connor, we're not going to be a complication in your lives, yours and Emily's. I know it's just been six days, four days since you moved in…"

"Not moved in," Felicity argued as she lifted her face to Oliver once again to make a point.

"Vacationed," Oliver gave her a look, "but I really want to get to know you. The woman who raised a happy, well-mannered, adorable little girl who has everyone wrapped around her little finger, the same woman who my son has taken quite a liking to, the same one who has earned the respect of my very hard to please parents with not only her heroism but because of what she's made of her life."

"Oliver…"

"Please, one date, dinner. We don't even have to go out. We'll have it at the gardens."

Felicity bit her lip, a sign that she was about to give in, what was one dinner inside the confines of the Queen Mansion. It was just dinner it wasn't even a public date although this time it would be just the two of them without the whole Queen clan and Emily with them. Emily had actually enjoyed the Queen dinners, apparently despite their very busy lives, they made it a point to be home for dinner each night. Shop talk was banned at the dinner table instead they talked a lot about what the kids did for the day.

Emily had been her charming self. She even had Robert, the hardnosed businessman carrying her around on his shoulders as she pretended he was a unicorn much to the shock of not only Felicity but apparently even the Queen siblings who had not seen their Dad this animated in quite awhile.

She was taken back to reality as she heard Oliver say her name once again.

Right, dinner with Oliver, just the two of them, in the gardens of the Queen Mansion. Despite it sounding so simple, she knew it could change things between them. Oliver had already verbalized some of it. It was up to her so to speak, the ball was in her court. Dinner could be a step forward for them, or it could just be a perfectly innocent one between friends. She tried to aim for the second one.

"Dinner among friends?"

Oliver looked at her with quiet intensity making her feel a little awkward again as the chill of tingles crept up her spine despite both of them still being in the heated pool.

"If that's what you want, dinner among friends, I'll take whatever you'll give me." Oliver then did something that Felicity never expected. He leaned down and kissed her cheek.

Felicity became flustered, "I, oh…I'm just…" Felicity once again put out incoherent sentence fragments as her hand unconsciously went to the cheek he had just planted a kiss on, "right," as she made her way out of the pool still feeling Oliver's eyes watching her progress as she tried to give her hips an extra swing and fail miserably, stumbling before she even reached the lounger than contained her sundress.

Oliver for his part had a contented smile on his face as he watched her progress, not even hiding what he was doing. If she wanted a friendly dinner, he'd give that to her. But he definitely did not look at her as just a friend, that's for sure. She wanted him to work harder to earn her trust, he had a reputation so maybe she was being real conservative, then that's what he would do.

If, the last few days were an indication of a taste of the what life could be with her and Emily, then he'd do it, if that's what she wanted, if that was what she was asking, then he'd do it! Finally stepping out of the pool to grab his towel and catch up with her for that promised ice cream.

Hell, if she wanted him to chase her, which is what he was actually doing now, taking long strides to catch up with her short ones, then he'd do it, shaking his head. The woman had no idea that she had him wrapped around her finger and he was okay with that. He was okay. Grinning again as he finally caught up with her.

* * *

It's funny how the Queens, Robert, Moira and Thea because although Connor and Emily were also present, they were too young to understand what all the silent looks between the Queens were all about, made sure they all stood near the exit of the door at the exact time Oliver escorted Felicity toward the Queen gardens.

Felicity was already flustered and practically red all over after the full appraisal Oliver had given her as she traversed the stairs from the second floor to the ground floor, his eyes only leaving hers for a few seconds to give her a full perusal but the moment they returned to her eyes, she had noticed the change in them, practically turning pools of black with what looked like desire, lots of it.

She even resisted the urge to fan herself like she had seen so many times in movies when Oliver held out his hand as she reached the last step and twined their hand together.

She had taken the time to dress up, well it was really Thea who had taken the time to dress her up because if it was just her, she would have just gone with one of her everyday dresses. Three hours to be exact to prim her up, choosing her most figure hugging dress, practically serving as her own private stylist as the girl meticulously spent hours curling her hair and putting on the exact make-up that she said highlighted Felicity's best features. Thea had concentrated her efforts on making her eyes pop, Thea's words not hers, by putting on a smoking effect around her eyes and coating her lips with a bright color that she said gave her lips an extra amount of pout. Felicity had a stifle a _'what the fucks!"_ many times during those three hours marveling at what the idle rich had to go through to look camera and paparazzi ready everytime. How was this her life! And why was she even allowing herself to be primed like livestock by the sister of the man she was going on a non-date with, making the effort to look vavavavoom for him.

So despite being all flustered, she was equally proud for making Starling's no. 1 bachelor look at her with lust and desire, like she was all his wet dreams come true. It made her feel like a billion dollars swallowing to remind herself this was a non-date, a friendly dinner between the two of them, her words not his because he wanted it to be a _date_ date after all.

She had all but recovered from the tingling sensation all over her body save for the heat coming from their still twined hands questioning why she had not yet pulled her hand away because she knew Oliver wouldn't be the one exerting that effort, at least not tonight when she first spotted the entourage that greeted them.

So much for keeping this on the lowdown from his family since the Queens where almost lined-up, as if welcoming a dignitary with the way they were acting.

Oliver caught her hesitation and practically glared at his sister. Felicity didn't catch Oliver's glare but she did catch the glare directed back at her brother before they were interrupted by a tiny voice.

"Mommy, you're so pretty, so pretty." Emily ran up to her touching the material of the dress as it shimmered catching some light.

"Dad looks good too," Connor stepped up too.

"Mommy why are you and Uncle Ollie all dressed up?" Emily asked innocently earning a raised brow from Thea.

"I'm….we're…" Felicity started to say but really couldn't form a coherent sentence to answer her daughter.

"Are you and Auntie Felicity going out on a date Dad?" Connor asked turning to his Dad this time. The kids had taken to calling them Auntie and Uncle since the day Felicity and Emily moved into the Queen Mansion, temporarily of course.

Oliver let go of their twined hands only to reposition the hand in the small of her back before he answered his son, "we are going to dinner, but Felicity doesn't consider this a date," he said turning to Felicity as if in challenge.

"Oh," Connor said frowning, "why, don't you want to go out on a date with my Dad? I mean, that's what two people who like eachother do right? Don't you like my Dad? 'Coz, I think he likes you."

Oh dear, Felicity thought to herself giving Oliver a glare of her own but seeing him only shrug in response practically telling her she'd be getting zero support from him answering his son's query.

Thankfully Moira butted in this time, taking pity on Felicity giving her a wan smile as she distracted the children by mentioning something about Raisa and ice cream, making the children practically ran to the kitchen forgetting about questioning their parents.

* * *

"This is….wow!" Felicity looked around where she was currently standing, a table for two on one side, the place surrounded by maybe a hundred glass encased candles giving the place a magical and ethereal look.

"Felicity?"

Oliver called out to her attracting her attention as he pulled out a chair for her.

"Oliver, this is…."

"I know, you already said it, wow." He finished her sentence cheekily.

Felicity rolled her eyes at him, "I told you this was not a date, this is a just a dinner between two friends."

"I got the message loud and clear. Believe me, this is not a date this is just dinner between two friends. Because when we finally go out on a date, it won't compare to this."

"Oh…..oh." Felicity's eyes widened at what he just said. Once again feeling the need to fan herself thinking, how is this my life now.

* * *

_I'm leaving this chapter at a high note and with a heavy sigh….awwwww._


	5. The Past Bleeds Into the Present

**Author's Note: Loving all the reviews and comments for this story. I'm gonna take a lot more time in between each chapter from here on in, something great takes time...like the lovestory of Oliver and Felicity on Arrow which took all of four seasons to get to a proposal! Yup i screamed and almost fainted like a typical fangirl. Anyone who still doubts Olicity isn't endgame can just...  
**

**This story will take some time. I'm building up chapter 5, the culmination of this will probably be around chapter 7, but this fic has a lot more story to be told beyond chapter 7, before we get out of the darkness and unto the dawn.**

**As usual, no matter how hard I work, I still don't own anything Arrow related.**

**Appreciate your follows and comments, drop me a line if you have the time. You can also check out my other stories in any of the following forums:**

**Fanfiction - lollipopdiaries**

**Archive of our Own - lollipopdiaries**

**Tumblr - everythinglollipop**

**Twitter - lollipopsays**

**Hope you guys enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

**Chapter 5 – The Past Bleeds into the Present**

_While some memories yellow and fade away. Memories specifically those that may deal with historical trauma may integrate into our present life. One such will be what this chapter will be dealing with. Felicity's past and how the present gets tangled with it._

"I miss my room at the Mansion already!" Emily declared.

Traitor, Felicity said in her mind. Just hours earlier, her daughter was so excited to get back to their rather simple stucco two-storey with its white picket fence, two car garage, 3-bedroom home. Now, just two minutes after she stepped foot inside the home she had known her whole life she ditched it in favor of the Queen Mansion.

Oliver and John had placed the luggage at the entry way of the house before John stepped out of the house with a meaningful look at Oliver.

"Are you sure you'll be fine? You and Em?" Oliver asked her hesitating to leave just yet.

Felicity narrowed her eyes at him, "Oliver, why wouldn't we be. It's always been just me and Em, we're going to be fine. You've got nothing to worry about. You've done more than enough."

"Felicity, I…."

"Oliver please. Just for tonight, please."

Oliver dipped his head in defeat then called out to Emily that he was leaving. The little girl burst out of her room and practically ran into his arms pleading with him to stay with them. Oliver looked Felicity in the eye as he continued to embrace the little girl not really surprised anymore at how difficult it was for him to step away from the little girl who finally let go and showed him her tears.

"Oh Em," Oliver said trying not to tear up at the little girls' reluctance to let him go. "I'm going to see you again. Connor and I will see you again. In fact," looking back at Felicity as he lifted the little child in his arms, "I was going to suggest that I pick you and your Mom up tomorrow morning so we could both bring you to school. Connor would be there too, it's going to be his first day back to school too."

Emily shifted her teary eyes to her mother, "Mommy usually brings me to school but you and Mommy bringing Connor and me to school together is going to be even better, right Mom?"

Felicity just smiled at her daughter giving nothing to Oliver as she told Emily to go back to her room and that she would be there in a few minutes so they could read a story before Emily goes to bed.

As soon as Emily's door closed, she gave Oliver her full attention, "what the hell was that!"

Oliver stepped forward apologetic, "it wasn't suppose to come out that way, I wanted to talk to you about that first but," gesturing to Emily's room, "seeing Em that way, I just. Damn it, I'm going to miss her, I'm going to miss both of you."

"Oliver…."

"Felicity, despite what you think I'm not going to stop. I remember what you said several days ago at the pool when you said you would return to your reality, just you and Em. But after last week, after the week we both had, you know in your heart that everything is different now, that reality you talked about, that's in the past now. I can't, I won't let you just walk out of my life now. You and Em, you're a part of not only Connor's life, but my life now too. Hell, my whole family's life if I'm being completely honest."

"Oliver, you have to give me room to breathe. You just can't. I just can't." Felicity started to stumble over her words.

"Slow, we can take this slow. You wanted us to start off as friends. I already told you I'll take anything you're willing to give. Anything Felicity! But you can't just pretend that the whole of last week didn't happen."

"I'm not! I wasn't going too!"

"Yes you were. But you're right. I need to give you room to take this all in. And I will, we'll take this slow. I'm stepping back and walking out that door so you can breathe. But I'll be back tomorrow, that's non-negotiable. Connor and I will be here bright and early, and we'll all have breakfast together, I'll bring breakfast courtesy of Raisa of course."

Felicity raised her brow at Oliver, "I can cook you know, Emily and I can make breakfast. It's not as fancy as breakfast at the Queens but, we do okay."

Oliver stepped even closer to Felicity with a grin, knowing he had won this round if Felicity was more focused on who would be making breakfast already. In fact, he actually looked forward to a breakfast prepared by the Smoaks. Feeling a little giddy, he dared to lean forward and kiss her softly in the lips pulling back just before Felicity realized what happened as Oliver walked backward towards the door hollering a see you tomorrow just as he stepped out.

Felicity shook her head as Oliver closed the door. He was right about one thing. Her reality, hers and Emily's was changing.

_After that non-date that they had just two nights ago which was the best ever date she had been to or was that the best non-date ever she had been to, now she was confused. Oliver had stepped up the charm._

_While he had remained chaste and appropriate during their non-date, she remembered the sensation of being practically swept off her feet by every action he made and the careful planning he put into that night because she checked the next day, Raisa the housekeeper had whispered to her that indeed Mister Oliver had been very insistent on a lot of the little details. They had ended the night with him giving her the most gentle kiss ever, barely brushing her lips at least in the onset of the kiss then deepening it just a bit by brushing his tongue gently against her lower lip then having the audacity to pull away when she practically opened her mouth to allow him entry._

_At her huff of dissatisfaction, Oliver gently reminded her that this was a non-date and she wanted them to just be friends ergo he just respected her wishes._

_While Oliver was mouthing his statement, Felicity had her eyes already narrowing and barely allowed him to finish his justification before she turned around intending to march away from him but was unceremoniously bounced against his solid chest as he pulled her around by the arm first then imprisoned both her cheeks in his hands as he dove in and gave her the most earth shattering, knee folding kiss she had ever had, belatedly registering that had it not been for him transferring one of his arms to her waist, she would have fallen on the ground not so gracefully._

_Damn the man as he ended his assault on her senses with one last lick of her lips before saying, "that was me not kissing a friend. That was me kissing a non-friend who I hope will allow me the privilege of a real date with her, a date date as she calls it."_

_She had practically been sleepless that night, floating in and out of consciousness replaying everything about that night in her mind going back and forth about what to do with this attraction. She had one night left in the Mansion then it would be back to the reality of her life so she felt confident deciding that she would leave that decision for when she was on home turf so to speak and hoped Oliver gave her that legroom._

Today was officially the first day she would be back at work and Emily would be back at school. Today would also be the first day Connor would be back at school. The Queens wanted to transfer him but Connor insisted on staying in that school so in the end Connor won pending all the juggernaut of upgrades the Queens through their legal counsel demanded from the school that the school after the incident over a very high profile student fell all over themselves to comply with.

Connor and his Dad arrived promptly at seven in the morning. True to her word, Felicity had cooked them breakfast which consisted of pancakes, Emily's favorite and bacon. Emily had downed her three pieces of chocolate chip pancakes almost the same time that Connor, who preferred blue berry pancake also finished his, leaving both the adults to linger on their plain honey glazed pancakes and coffee a little longer as Emily showed Connor around their simpler abode.

While Connor was already dressed for the day, his Dad was half-dressed in tailored pants but wearing a t-shirt top. He had however brought his suit, tie and button up with him to finish dressing up at the guest bathroom just as Felicity stepped out of her bedroom all made up wearing one of her favorite dresses.

Her sudden appearance had caught Oliver by surprise making him just stare at the vision in front of him until Emily's voice interrupted them.

"Mommy, you're wearing my favorite dress. Matt's going to be drooling and making gooey eyes at you all day," Emily giggled.

Internally Oliver grunted, his hands fisted thankfully unseen. Who the hell was this Matt guy and who was he to Felicity. He distinctly remembered the information that Felicity was single and unattached. Well if that's what it took, then yes, he was willing to fight for her starting right now, as he tightened his tie and gave the woman a full view of his awesomeness because hell, his Burberry tailor-made business suit clearly showed off all his assets. Let her feast her eyes on him, he said that confidently to himself.

* * *

They had driven to the kids school with a full entourage of security. A security car in front of their Bentley which was driven by John Diggle who greeted her with a smile and Emily with a high five as they entered the car, and a tail car.

The children had chosen to seat across from their parents animatedly talking about all the school work they missed. Oliver and Felicity for their part had barely said a word to eachother with Felicity choosing to tinker with her tablet and Oliver alternately gazing out the window and giving her occasional looks.

Felicity was feeling a little weird about the whole situation not used to being driven around, but what made the moment even more surreal for her was that to the outside world, they looked like a typical family with Mom and Dad shuttling the kiddies to school before beginning the work day. It was odd that the Queen boys, Oliver and Connor thought nothing of it. Well to be frank Emily was also taking all of this in stride as if this happens everyday. Really, she was the only one who found this whole thing preposterous.

By this time of the day, she was already a little harassed as she was usually caught up in early morning traffic on her way to drop Emily off at her school before she drove herself to her office.

Without those distractions, she had nothing left to do but either insert herself into the animated conversation going on between the children, make small talk with Oliver or tinker with her tablet, she chose the last one.

As they reached the school, Oliver alighted first, taking sometime to brief the two security men who apparently would be stationed at the school as Connor's security. After a few minutes of warm embraces and Felicity finally agreeing to Oliver's suggestion that Thea also pick up Emily when she picked up her nephew so Felicity could catch up with work, both of them were back inside the Bentley this time on their way to her office building, _Game On,_ to drop her off.

What Felicity did not know was that one of the security detail was also instructed by Oliver to keep a look out for Emily Smoak since she was now clearly identified with the Queens after the still heavy airplay the story about the abduction was still getting.

Finally reaching her building, Oliver stepped out and offered her his hand as he assisted her out of the car. Felicity had been prepared for the awkward goodbye but was surprised when Oliver never gave her hand back but continued to hold hers while walking towards her building as if he did this everyday.

"Here is perfectly fine. I can get to my office from here fine." Felicity told him trying and failing to wrestle her hand out of his.

Oliver gave her a mischievous smile before answering, "I know you can but this is me walking you to your office door anyway."

"Why?"

Oliver stopped their progress across the building hallway with a squeeze of her hand, "I told you we'd take this as slow as you want it. This is just me, putting my best foot forward by walking the girl that I like to her door like any self-respecting gentleman should be doing for a girl he has set his heart on."

"Will you stop saying things like that!" Felicity whispered half flustered at what he just said.

"Why?"

"Why? Why! Because….just stop, and leave. We're attracting attention," this time she whispered the words a little heated at him.

Oliver looked around and indeed since it was a public lobby, they indeed were attracting attention. Everyone knew who he was at least everyone in Starling City knew he was Oliver Queen. Because of the heavily reported events last week, people were now also familiar with Felicity Smoak.

"Felicity!" A familiar voice interrupted them, approached them frowning, "Oliver, I mean Mr. Queen, what are you doing here?"

"Barry," Oliver greeted the younger man, "nice to see you again and call me Oliver. I was just dropping off Felicity," he answered by way of explanation.

"Oh, I thought you already moved back to your house?" Barry asked Felicity a little confused.

Felicity glared at Oliver then gave Barry a faltering smile, "I did. We dropped off the kids at school and," as she noticed Barry's face contorted further in confusion, she stopped and turned to Oliver, "I think you better go, I'm perfectly fine to make my way to my office. Barry will be with me to make sure that I do."

Oliver reluctantly let go of her hand and just nodded slightly in agreement since he was left with no more choice, "I'll pick you up at six, dinner at the house is at seven so we'll be cutting it a little close if we get caught in traffic," leaning in to kiss her on the cheek before nodding to Barry then walking away with Felicity still looking at him in shock.

* * *

"What was that all about?" Barry asked as they finally entered her office after having to wait two turns for the elevator.

"What was what?" Felicity answered trying to act coy.

"Oh come on Felicity, don't be coy with me. This is Barry you're talking to your oldest and most trusted friend?"

Felicity sat down heavily on her chair before admitting, "I honestly don't know. I think he's trying to woo me."

"You think? You don't know?" Barry responded in disbelief.

"I do. I don't! I'm confused." Her forehead hitting her desk as she let her head fall helplessly on her desk in frustration.

Barry put up his feet at the corner of her desk before he said thoughtfully, "can't say I couldn't see that possibility coming. The way he's been since this all happened. I'm just surprised this is happening so quickly. I mean we're talking about Oliver Queen, heir to the Queen fortune, CEO of QC and Starling's no. 1 bachelor. Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen, that's something," Barry told her grinning widely.

"It can be nothing. He may realize this was all a knee jerk reaction to me saving his son or a lingering effect of me and Emily staying at the Mansion or something. I don't really want to read too much into this. I might just be setting myself up for a fall and it is going to be quite a fall," she said the last part with her eyes closed.

"Oh my God! You like him too! This is good, this is great! But it's good to be cautious too. You've been burned once. And you have Emily to consider."

"That's why I told him this isn't a good idea."

"You guys already talked about this already? And still, I saw what I saw in the lobby. Looks like Queen isn't taking your no seriously."

"We agreed to take it slow, real slow," Felicity shared this information reluctantly with Barry.

Barry sat forward, his feet once again on the carpet as he reached out to pat her hand, "Felicity, if someone deserves happiness in her life it's you, you and Emily both. I know it hasn't been easy, having Em and building this company at the same time. But you need to give yourself a chance at happiness. Both you and Emily deserve that chance. Oliver Queen, Connor, the Queens coming into your lives, this may be unexpected but then again maybe it's fate Felicity. You just have to give it a chance. If he's willing to do this on your terms then…."

Felicity exhaled and closed her eyes before she answered Barry, "I just hope he won't break my heart."

* * *

Oliver determinedly walked thru the lobby of the building which housed her offices, stepping into an elevator and pressing eight for her floor trying to not make eye contact with the other occupants of the elevator.

Felicity was frowning as she gazed at her computer screen as Matt, her assistant knocked at her open door.

"Excuse me Felicity, Mr. Queen is here to see you," Matt told her and blushed a shade of pink when she smiled her thanks at him which made him stumble and almost fall on Oliver who side stepped him just in time to avoid the little nerdy man who rushed out of the room right after.

Oliver followed the little man with his eyes for a few more seconds before he landed them back on Felicity with a smile, "so that's Matt," Oliver said confidently as he stepped forward and pecked her on the cheek automatically an action that Felicity was still to get used to since he seemed to be doing that regularly.

"That was Matt," Felicity answered him, "why?"

Oliver shrugged then grinned, "Emily mentioned him earlier today, something about the boy having a crush on you."

Felicity rolled her eyes at him before she sat back down on her chair heaving in frustration once again at her screen.

"Hard day?" Oliver asked her settling on the armchair in front of her glass working desk after he looked around her office which was very Felicity, Oliver thought to himself. While the machines and the glass working desk where ultra modern. The interiors, her mismatched visitor armchairs, the antique secretary's desk in the corner and the various throw pillows on top of a classic couch screamed her quirky style.

Felicity huffed, "one of our earlier games has a glitch in it. Barry and I have been trying to work on it all day but it's getting the better of us at the moment. It's actually the first game app we launched when _Game On_ first started, a baby that I've been working on since College."

"Maybe all you need is a good night's rest then everything will resolve itself tomorrow. You just got back today, give yourself sometime," Oliver told her pushing down the screen of her laptop so she would focus on him and what he was saying. "Besides," he looked at his watched, "we really have to get going if we want to make it to the house by 7. The kids are waiting for us."

Felicity just blankly stared at Oliver for a few seconds after his last two sentences. His words just felt so domestic and it was getting slightly weird for her.

"Felicity?" Oliver questioned her a little concerned at her blank stare.

Felicity took another deep breath, this time to center herself before she stood up and gathered her things thinking after tonight she really needed to take a few steps back before she becomes suffocated by Oliver's looming presence. They would definitely have a talk after the dinner at his family's house, definitely.

* * *

Queen's bentley finally pulled out of the curb fronting the building which housed Felicity's office after Felicity and Oliver had both stepped inside unaware that they were being watched by three men who were seated inside a heavily tinted black SUV.

The man in the back gave the driver instructions to follow the bentley from a distance because if he guessed correctly, he knew they would be heading for the Queen Mansion before he turned to the younger man who sat beside him.

"It's only a matter of time now that she's back and focused on resolving the issue. At this point, there is no choice to make, we have to strike first. If we don't, all our hard work will go down the drain."

The younger man nodded, "I understand what needs to be done."

"Good," the older man said before he tapped the shoulder of his driver, "let's give her one last quiet night." The driver understood and took a right at the next turn instead of continuing to follow the bentley.

_I already gave myself a little spank for leaving this chapter the way it ended but hey…cliffhanger, duh!_


	6. Echoes of Youth

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's only been three weeks, it hasn't been that long since my last update. In my** **defence i changed laptops so i had to reconfigure some specs and data before I was confident i wouldn't loose any of my stories already written since i don't have back-ups.**

**It's only chapter six so I hope you guys stick with me because it's going to be a couple of chapters yet before we get to the reunion of our ultimate couple. In the meantime, this chapter is heavy on POVs.**

**It has been said that Oliver in this story seems to be moving too fast, I've tried to explain his POV somewhat in this chapter. Sometimes it just happens.**

**I promise the next chapter after this will be uploaded within two weeks, it's already written but I just want it to simmer more before it goes to print since I can't take it back and I'm currently in the middle of writing chapter 8 already.**

**Also, the front cover of this fic is also from Joisunny, from my beloved country the Philippines. If you are clicking this story from my twitter, the poster is their. Send her some love too.**

**As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:**

**Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)**

**Tumblr - everythinglollipop**

**Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies**

**Ao3 - lollipopdiaries**

**Wattpad - lollipopdiairies**

* * *

Chapter 6 – Echoes of Youth

Felicity pressed her alarm and groaned, burying her head beneath one of her purple fluffy goose feather pillows. She was physically, emotionally and mentally exhausted after the rather heavy turn last night's conversation with Oliver had taken.

He had refused to totally back away but had promised that he would give her a few days without physically showing himself, giving her the space she asked for. He however stated that what they agreed upon didn't include him not texting or calling her, something she reluctantly agreed he could do, within reason.

So today was to be her first Oliver-free day and surprisingly she had mixed feelings about it but didn't dwell on it too much since she had Emily to attend to and her routine of bringing Emily to school before she made her way to her office to go back to.

All throughout the morning, she and Barry where in the conference room beside her office, both busily working on their side of the puzzle of deciphering the glitch in _Domination,_ one of the first game apps her company had launched on her _Game On_ company.

Barry grunted frustrated, "I've looked at the coding so many times already it's all becoming a blur to me and still, I can't figure out why we can't get past level 299 damn! It always resets back to level 99!"

"I've taken the game apart and back and still can't figure out what's wrong with it. So that makes two of us." Felicity was startled by a mini-beep in her watch for a second before she recovered and remembered the reason for the alarm. She had to pick up Emily. "Why don't you continue working on this," gesturing at what they were doing, "I'll just pick up Em then we'll both be back here, we might have to work late because I definitely won't be able to sleep a wink tonight until I get to the bottom of this."

Barry nodded and smiled in the dorky fashion that was uniquely him, "sleep is overrated anyway."

* * *

It was already seven at night and only Emily, Barry and Cisco who had joined them by five in the afternoon where left in the office with Felicity. Barry had ordered them pizza earlier and they were just waiting on it to arrive, which would allow them a mini-break.

Emily was contently playing with her doll set which Felicity recognized as the same on Thea had bought her while they were at the Queen Mansion shaking her head as reminders of their time with the Queens still constantly plagued her.

Just earlier, when she picked up Emily, Thea and Connor were there seated with Emily as her daughter waited for her to arrive as if it was the most natural thing in the world. As soon as Emily spotted her, both children ran to embrace her and she even got a hug from Thea like they were all one happy extended family.

"Will you be coming to the house for dinner again tonight?" Connor asked her with the same puppy eyes his father had, damn the man, even if he wasn't here he was still finding ways to invade her being.

Felicity bit her lip, aware that she would not only be disappointing the little boy but her own daughter as well, but she needed to stand firm with regards to her decision about the Queens, just Oliver really, to keep his distance, "not tonight Con. I've got catching up to do at work because I took off a whole week last week." Seeing how the little boys face fell, she was quick to add, "soon, I promise Con." And there she went again promising Oliver's son that she would make the time for them. She really was digging herself her own grave.

* * *

Oliver was rubbing his face as he stared at the various papers with numbers in front of him. The part he most hated about being CEO is the finance and accounting part of it. He just had no patience with so many numbers, especially since he had to go through the smaller ones to get to the big bottomline numbers which was how his father always did it.

His father had a reputation as a hardnosed businessman who never delegated anything without thoroughly going through every little thing. His meticulous eye for details had helped ensure that everyone else at QC was diligent in their jobs and fully aware that if they harbored any desire for trickery or deceit, they wouldn't get too far.

That was why Oliver had to slave through dissecting the financial reports. He wasn't going to let his father and the people who relied on him to go the extra mile down. But today that was easier said than done.

His mind was occupied again with Felicity and their talk a few nights ago, the night he had brought the mother and daughter back to the Smoak house in the suburbs.

He wasn't really surprised by their 'talk', she had said it in so many other ways before that her reinforcing what she felt strongly about just fueled his desire to prove to her that he was prepared to abide by everyone of her terms except walk away from the possibility of what could be between them because he truly believed that what he felt was true and genuine for her despite it being so sudden and quick. Maybe falling for someone wasn't always meant to be a process. Maybe sometimes it was suppose to be a punch to the heart.

" _We should talk," Felicity said as both of them exited little Emily's room after Oliver had read her a chapter of the book they were currently reading with the little girl falling asleep midway._

" _Okay," his casual answer did not reflect the inner turmoil of his feelings at the moment. Good for him he was anticipating this 'talk' with Felicity and was prepared with counter arguments if it went the direction he knew she would take it._

_She left him in suspense for a few more minutes as she poured a glass of red wine for both of them. He was quickly learning that she usually did this before a heavy discussion._

" _Oliver, I hope you won't take this the wrong way because your family, Connor and you have all been wonderful to both me and Emily, especially to Emily. For the longest time it's been only the two of us. Occasionally Barry and Cisco and some others join us, they've become our family but the kind of welcome your family has for Emily, for both of us actually….," Felicity shrugged, "it's…"_

_Oliver grabbed both of Felicity's hands, they were seated side by side on her couch, "we've all fallen in love with Emily, every single one of us. She'll always have a place in my family, both of you have a place in my family."_

_Felicity tried to pull her hand away from his because how could she say what she had been gearing up to say if he was holding her hands, she needed distance for what she was about to do. At her action Oliver exhaled defeated._

" _I need some time to process all this." Felicity stood up and walked nearer to her windows, she need to actually create more distance if she were to be firm in her stand, "I need you to give me space because you…..this," gesturing between them, "this is confusing me, it's messing with me, I know what you're doing and whatever it is you're feeling, maybe it is real. Maybe it is just the way you're made. But I'm not wired that way. I'm probably the exact opposite of you. I like to take my time, I'm cautious by nature. I can't just," raising up her hands in frustration as she felt tears start to water in her eyes._

_Oliver stood up, cautiously approaching her, silently asking for permission to draw closer. "I understand Felicity, I do. I'm sorry, I don't mean to discard your feelings when it comes to us, but honestly, I just can't help it. Yes, I may be moving too fast, which really isn't in my nature too, but with you, my heart just knows and for possibly the first time in my life, I'm letting my heart lead me."_

_Oliver dared to lift one of his hands to her cheek to wipe away a lone tear that had escaped as he was giving her his impassioned speech, "I've said it before. Whatever you want, I'll do it. Just don't ask me to walk away from you. Because I won't do it, that's the one thing I would never do when it comes to you."_

_Felicity leaned into the palm that was pressed on her cheek and unconsciously her own palm pressed on top of his, "space, I just need you to give me some. This isn't just about me it's about my daughter too. If someday someone would be a part of our lives, that man should love my daughter the way I do, treat her as if she's the most precious thing in this world, even more so than me."_

_Oliver was about to speak but Felicity stopped him with a finger to his lips._

_Smiling through tears that threatened to escape again, "I know how you feel about my daughter. I've seen it with my own eyes. If there's one thing that's working in your favor it's that. And I'll be totally honest with you, my heart wants to let you in, but my brain is giving me so many warning signs mostly because of who you are and because this is happening to fast."_

_Oliver shifted so both his palms were now on her cheeks giving her a smile filled with regret, "unfortunately, I can't change my past," he knew she was referring to his misplaced youth and his playboy image, "or who I am," this time she was referencing him as Oliver Queen, thinking they were worlds apart from eachother. "All I can do is prove to you that I'm sincere, that this is all real for me. That you are what I want, all I want."_

_Felicity inhaled deeply, her emotions were getting the best of her. She was never in an intense relationship. Even with Emily's father it had never been like this, that was the reason this scared her. She feared that if she let her heart rule then she wouldn't be able to recover from this. That's why she had to step back, why she needed space. But to step back she also needed to move forward, so she did what he least expected. With his palms still on her cheeks, she raised both her arms and locked them around his neck before she raised herself on the tip of her toes so she could brush her lips with his._

_When at first he was confused with what she intended to do the moment he felt her lips touch his he froze, his mind chanting the word slow to him repeatedly. Much as he wanted to deepen the kiss and takeover, he let her set the pace, afraid that any second now she would pull back and regret her momentary lapse._

_When she bit his lower lip he finally lost it, taking control as he pushed his tongue between her lips molding her closer to him as his hands left her cheeks to travel to her head, angling her to give him a better vantage point._

" _Wow," Felicity said as she finally pushed him back gently on the chest still heaving. "I just wanted to…" Felicity licked her lips in front of him making his orbs darken once again in want, "….do that one more time so I could process this properly."_

_Oliver couldn't help himself as he gave her temple one last lingering kiss before he whispered, "I'll give you a few days to process. Anything you will need. But don't ask me not to contact you totally. I won't be able to do that. I'll call you or text you," stepping back then as if he couldn't help himself he stepped forward one more time and kissed her so tenderly it made Felicity's insides flutter._

_Oliver had to stop and pause for a few seconds outside Felicity's door. He told himself he could do this, he could do as she asked, give her a few days._

Oliver stared at the blank screen of his IPhone once again, a few seconds away from sending her another text. Yeah, two texts in a day was acceptable which was what he had been doing the last few days having fulfilled his end of the promise to give her time away from what she described as his looming presence. He was aching to send her a third one but he was aware at that point he maybe bordering on stalking a little bit, quickly pulling back his fingers from the temptation of his phone and transferring his eyes once again on the sheet of papers that were scattered across his table.

* * *

This was the third consecutive night of stalking. The young man who was seated on the passenger seat of a nondescript black van was impatiently staring at the lights that were still on in a corner office on the eight floor of the building. The same one he now knew to be the _Game On_ official headquarters.

His boss was a powerful man. In the underground world he was well respected, more because those who disagreed with him met untimely deaths than anything else. The arms dealing kind of business is dangerous after all.

His boss once had an 'employee' who did his electronic related work for him including the task of programming high-tech arms his boss sold to the highest bidders but alas, the man just like so many others under his boss' employ took a misstep and the next day his body was floating on the river, another unsolved case for the SCPD.

He was also considered as 'tech support' by the boss man but he was not at the same league as his very dead former colleague. Thankfully he had other 'skills' like being a henchman and executioner for the boss man. That was why he was still alive.

His current assignment was to stalk the woman who the targeted by his boss man to replace his former colleague in his organization. Her skills were needed and they were needed asap by the boss man.

So here he was, waiting for the signal from his boss if tonight was finally the night or if this was just another routine sleepless night to stalk this woman. The young man shook his head as the snoring of his driver for the night Cain grew louder, so much for being subtle about stalking when your partner all but gave away your position by dozing off noisily.

* * *

"Maybe we should call it a night?" Barry suggested as he looked at Emily who was sleeping on the couch still holding on to one of her dolls.

Felicity too looked at her daughter. Tonight it just was Barry and her with Emily as she realized it was almost two in the morning standing up hastily.

"Yeah we should, sorry Barry didn't mean to lose track of time it just really frustrates me that I can't get to the bottom of this. It's been three nights already, I just don't understand it."

"You and I both, but another day could make a difference. Maybe we're both just too tired at this point."

Felicity shutdown her laptop and placed the papers in order, "can you take Emily?"

About ten minutes later they exited the building elevators with Barry carrying Emily, and Felicity distractedly searching inside her bag for her car keys as a black van pulled up in front of them with a man dressed in all black and a ski mask pulled Felicity to him while he pointed a gun at both Barry and Emily.

"Get in the van!" the man in black commanded while he aimed the gun at the little girl who was slowly waking up, "now!"

Felicity had no choice but to do as the man said, locking eyes with Barry as she did as if trying to tell him something.

* * *

Oliver was finding it difficult to sleep that night. It was past two in the morning but his body refused to shut down. Instead he just did pushups on his carpet something he was used to doing when he felt the need.

Although he was having difficulty sleeping the last four nights, tonight was exceptional. Exhausted as he was from all the brain exercises he had to do that day working at QC then thinking about Felicity and what she was doing, it should have been enough to wear him down. But for some reason, his body was on alert tonight.

He spent a couple of more minutes doing pushups before he decided he would do some rounds around the Queen Mansion gardens, stepping into a jogging attire complete with a green hoodie making sure to pick up his phone with him before he stepped out of his room.

He had been doing another round of circling the gardens when his phone went off checking the time first, 2:15am before coming to a full stop when he realized who was calling.

"Felicity?" he answered the phone panic already in his voice at the second ring.

"Ah no, it's Barry. I mean its Felicity's phone but this is Barry," a nervous Barry answered him.

Oliver's insides went cold as Barry stumbled over his explanation, his mind filled with dread, "why do you have Felicity's phone?"

About fifteen minutes after Barry called, Oliver pulled over in his ducati in front of Felicity's office building, dropping his bike as if it didn't cost thousands catching little Emily mid-run as she immediately ran to him when she realized who had arrived.

"What happened?" Oliver asked Barry while Emily was still in his arms, his one hand starting to rub her back to quiet her sobs. The police where already on the scene, a few building guards talking to some of them but Oliver only had eyes for Emily and Barry at this point ignoring the mayhem around them.

"Someone grabbed Felicity, at gunpoint…a black van and a guy in a ski mask. He pointed a gun at Emily. I was carrying Emily, we just locked up at the office around thirty minutes ago, we lost track of time working on a problem with one of our game apps. She had no choice but to go with the men, I just froze. I could have done something, should have done something…" Barry continued talking, guilt dripping from every word he uttered.

Oliver reached out a hand to squeeze the shoulder of the younger man as he continued to carry little Emily on his other arm, "it's not your fault Barry."

A screeched of wheels noisily interrupted the moment between the two men with John stepping out of his car together with a few other men. John assessed the situation for a few seconds before he made his way toward Oliver.

"I came here as soon as I could," John said still looking around then nodding to Barry.

"Barry already gave me a rundown of what happened," Oliver said eying the police detective who was making his way to where they were making Oliver straighten his shoulders in anticipation while tightening his hold on little Emily who had her little arms around his neck still hiccuping in silence.

"Mr. Queen, fancy seeing you here," the detective approached him sarcastically.

"Detective Lance," Oliver greeted the detective solemnly.

"So, I take it the rumors are true. You and Ms. Smoak are an item seeing as that's her daughter in your arms?" Detective Lance said, his voice still dripping with a hint of sarcasm.

"Felicity,….Ms. Smoak is a friend, a good friend. I think you're aware of what had happened recently with my son. Barry gave me a call," gesturing with his chin toward the younger man who the detective had already interviewed earlier. "I'm just concerned this is related to my family. Do you have any new information detective?" Oliver asked trying to put aside his personal animosity with the detective.

The detective eyed Oliver with suspicion then transferred his gaze to the man who without a doubt worked as security for the Queens. He had seen the muscled dark man with the Queens many times before.

"You thinking this had something to do with you?" the detective asked him, giving the man a full appraisal, frowning a bit as he took in how the little girl was comfortably secured in his arms, the same little girl who was the daughter of the woman who was kidnapped barely an hour ago. It was difficult for the detective to imagine someone like Oliver Queen, who had a reputation for being irresponsible, breaking the hearts of so many young women by discarding them so easily, his own daughter being one of them, with the man who was gently soothing the little girl in his arms so comfortably that the girl had fallen asleep in his arms.

"I don't know, that's why I asked you," Oliver said trying to keep his impatience out of his voice, after all it wouldn't go so well if he was to get on the bad side of the police. For Felicity he had to keep calm.

The detective exhaled before he reluctantly answered, "we've got nothing yet so far aside from the statements of the few guards and Mr. Allen here. We are accessing the cctv cameras right now both of the building and any along the streets which can be helpful but it will take sometime." The detective rubbed his face in exhaustion, "twice in two weeks the woman has been kidnapped. If this is related to the Queens, I wonder why they went after someone outside of the family, unless there's something you're not sharing with us Mr. Queen?"

"I'm here Detective, I'm cooperating. If this has something to do with my family, we will do everything we can to get Felicity back, everything."

The detective nodded once again at the conviction in the young man's voice. "Then again it may be totally unrelated to you and everything to do with just her or her company. Mr. Allen mentioned that it looks like someone tried to breach the company firewalls."

"Felicity did mention that she was having concerns about one of the game apps her company developed," Oliver shared, getting a raised eyebrow once again from the detective.

"We're also going to look into that then discard it just in case. We'll look into all possibilities. I have a feeling this is going to be a high-profile case," the detective said frustration already showing in his voice before he eyed the child in Queens arm, "nothing else needed here. Why don't you head back home the kid looks like she needs a bed. Usually Social Services is involved when no parent is available to care of minors."

"That doesn't have to be the case here Detective. Me and my family will care for Emily Smoak in the meantime."

"Ahum," was all the detective said before nodding. "I'll be dropping by at sunrise, I'll need a statement and some information from you too but it can wait a few hours."

Oliver nodded back at the detective before he turned to Barry, "I'm bringing Em home with me, I think she'd get a little comfort being in a familiar environment, you're welcome to come along too."

Barry shook his head, "I think I'd just like to head home, although if you don't mind, I'd like to be there when the detective drops by later."

Oliver nodded back at the younger man then turned to John.

"I'll stick around a while longer," he told Oliver. "Why don't you use the SUV going back to the Mansion, I'll take the bike back."

"Thanks John," Oliver told his head of security before he gave his full attention back to Emily, repositioning her more comfortably in his arm as he carried her to the waiting SUV.

* * *

As soon as Oliver stepped inside the Mansion, his sister grabbed the sleeping little girl from his arms.

"Ollie, you should have woken me up, I could have gone with you," his sister chided him.

Oliver inhaled heavily, he didn't need this on top of everything else right now, "just take Em and stay with her please, she might wake up suddenly. She's going to need someone there with her."

Thea nodded although if she was really being honest with her brother, what the little girl actually needed that moment aside from her mother was really her brother, it was more than obvious that the best one who could comfort little Emily was her brother but she understood things needed to be done and in the meantime she would do what she could.

* * *

Oliver paced the floor of his home office, it was barely four in the morning just almost two hours since Felicity was taken and already Oliver was busy berating himself.

He should have followed his initial instinct and never allowed Felicity to sway him about giving her a few days. If he had been with her, with them, he was sure this wouldn't have happened. At the very least, he would have insisted that she left at a reasonable time in her office. He of course would be the one picking her up and if she needed to work overtime for some project or problem then she would do so in the comfort of her home with him by her side or better yet at the Queen Mansion which Oliver truly believe she should never have left in the first place.

If she was still in the Mansion, if he was in her life 24/7 then this wouldn't have happened, at all.

Oliver gulped down the remainder of the tumbler of whiskey before he made a promise to himself. When he got Felicity back, because he definitely would get her back if it killed him, both she and Emily would move back into the Mansion whether she liked it or not.

If she needed space from him then he'd move her to another wing that was how much space he was willing to give her, but definitely she was moving into the Queen Mansion, permanently.

* * *

_I can be reasonable, no cliffhanger. Well, not really._


	7. A Shocking Twist

AUTHOR'S NOTE: The first twist is in this chapter, I hope you guys are suitably excited by the antagonist, i've meditated long and hard who to use and really, there was no choice to make, until Arrow Season 4 begins, I still consider my chosen antagonist as the best one largely because Barrowman is a teddy bear and I can't picture him as real bad to the bone.

This is another chapter meant to move the story forward hence the limited action but I promise the next one makes up for the POVs and verbal calisthenics of this chapter. I think after reading this chapter, you'll know what the next one is all about, clap clap clap.

Also, the poster of this fic I used on twitter is from Joisunny, send her some love too.

As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:

Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)

Tumblr - everythinglollipop

Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies

Ao3 - lollipopdiaries

Wattpad - lollipopdiairies

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Chapter 7 – A Shocking Twist

Felicity woke up with a headache confused for a moment where she was before it all came back to her as she said to herself, why does this keep happening to me.

She was tied down to a chair in the dark but she was fully aware that despite the darkness there, she could see a shadow of a set up of computers a few feet away from her. She'd recognize that anywhere.

She had no semblance of time, didn't know how long she was out. It could be minutes, hours hopefully not days.

She tried to pull at the strings tying her down to no avail and as if the place had motion sensors to detect that she was now awake, the lights in the room dramatically turned on one by one making Felicity cringe her eyes at the sudden brightness for a few seconds before they focused.

She was right. This was a room that had a set up of computers. And not just ordinary computers, the set of computers before her was hi-tech, despite her current predicament she craved to get her fingers on the computer. It was rare that a set-up like this existed. Her mind processed this and her breath hitched, if they had something sophisticated like this then her kidnapping wasn't random, neither was it related to the Queens. This kidnapping had everything to do with just her and most probably her abilities.

To reinforce that point, she noticed that her watch, the same wearable one that was missed the first time by the Queen kidnappers was absent from her wrist. That meant the people behind her kidnapping knew what they were doing.

Looking around the plain white painted room, she spotted a couple of cameras along with sensors. This time she really was scared, closing her eyes as she tried to get her breathing back to normal remembering her daughter and the gun pointed at her little head hoping that her daughter was safe somewhere.

Oliver. She didn't know why she suddenly thought of him. In the back of her mind she of course knew why, she was hoping that he was already aware of what had happened to her because one thing she knew for a fact about the man, he was someone she could always count on. Now more than ever she needed him.

It gave her a little comfort that she somehow knew that if he was aware of what had happened to her, she was sure that Emily was now safely with him, probably in the Queen Mansion. For that alone, she was thankful that the Queen's had come into their lives.

A door opened suddenly breaking her out of her thoughts as she tried to focus on the figure. Unfortunately, the area where the door was located was still dark.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"Oliver!" John called out to him.

Oliver immediately stood up from his chair to face John. John for his part took in everything about his friend, red eyes, haggard looks, rumpled unlike any other time he had seen his friend who was always almost impeccably dressed, something that was ingrained in him as a child. A Queen must always be of the mindset that he is on public display therefore should always appear groomed and polished. At this moment, his friend clearly had the look of someone whose world had collapsed around him.

"Any news?"

John didn't bother to answer his friend instead he pushed Oliver gently to the side and started to tinker with the laptop on top of the office desk Oliver used in the Mansion, turning it to an angle so that Oliver could have a better view.

"One of the cctv's on the street picked this up," John gave Oliver a few seconds to absorb the video before he continued, "Detective Lance will be over in a couple of hours, he was just finishing up and wanted to follow up a few leads." John looked at his watch, "maybe around seven in the morning, seeing as it's already almost five."

Oliver just blankly stared at the video that showed Felicity stepping into the black van with a backward look at Emily and Barry. It was a little grainy but it was definitely her, he would know that face anywhere. Oliver could remember an almost eerily similar incident just a couple of weeks back also involving Felicity.

"Oliver, why don't you get some sleep, we both need it," John said including himself so Oliver wouldn't bother to protest, "when we get definitive information Felicity will need us, will need you to be 100% . As far as I can see Oliver, this is far from it," gesturing toward Oliver's state.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Maybe to add to the drama of her current situation the men who entered chose to stay in the darkness, she could faintly see them from where she was still bound to a chair.

Something was whispered. Something rough and low was said. Unfortunately, she wasn't meant to hear what was said otherwise they would have avoided he whole drama of having this conversation in the dark.

Finally she heard footsteps approach making her sit up straight. Who ever was the man who walked ahead of the others two who entered with him, he was clearly the leader of this circus and she was about to find out why she was abducted.

Slowly, the blurry vision of the man who was walking toward her became clearer.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Oliver's bedroom door burst open with a loud bang. If he had been sleeping the noise surely would not only have woken him but would have had him jumping from his bed, fortunately for him he wasn't asleep despite his promise to Diggle just a couple of hours ago.

How could he just be expected to close his eyes and fall asleep as if all was right in his world. He wouldn't, couldn't even if he wanted to. Not after he had been through, not after what they had been through, together. He wasn't going to just pretend she didn't mean anything to him. He couldn't and he wouldn't.

He already admitted it to himself, those who mattered to him, his family knew what he was feeling, what was in his heart. Hell, he had said it to her, maybe not in the exact words that were needed, but only because she had wanted to put the brakes on them.

But not anymore, he wouldn't waste a second. Not after what happened. He was repeating his vow to himself to man up and say the words to her, nevermind if she thought he was crazy. Because he was actually, he was crazy in love with her, almost at first sight. When you know, you just know. And boy, he knew it.

It was at this moment that his bedroom door burst open and in came his son Connor, his expression clouded for a second when he didn't see his Dad where he should have been before he finally spotted him seated on the floor in the corner of his room beside the lighted fireplace.

"Dad," Connor kneeled down in front of his father, clearly aware now of what had occurred last night while he was sleeping. "Why didn't you wake me up?" He asked his Dad with an accusing tone.

Oliver just buried his fingers on his hair and exhaled heavily, he didn't want to deal with this on top of everything else but avoidance was never good, even in times like this he still had to teach his son the correct values. He however chose to post a question of his own in lieu of answering one.

"How?"

"It was on the news. I was getting ready for school, the tv was turned on in the living room."

Great, Oliver thought. If the tv was turned on in the living room that meant his Mom and Dad already knew but were probably giving him a few more minutes of quiet before they hammered down on him or John had probably done him a big favor by doing the task of filling in his parents on the events of last night.

"Is Em here? She should be with us. She should be with family."

All it took was for his son to mention the word family and Oliver couldn't hold his emotions back in anymore. It started with a single tear rolling down his cheek then the water works started and wouldn't stop. At some point he probably pulled his son to him as both of them left their emotions on their sleeves.

This was how his parents and a few seconds later, his sister with little Emily found the father and son.

He could barely look at Emily, not when he messed up when it came to protecting her mother. He knew he had a lot of misplaced guilt when it came to Felicity being kidnapped. But after he had acknowledged, accepted his feelings for her, it went without saying that she became his responsibility, just like each and every member of his blood family was. She was as his son put it earlier, family, she and Emily where family. He knew it and by just looking at his parents and sister, they too considered the Smoaks family.

While his right arm was still solidly wrapped around his son, his left arm was now held out as if beckoning Emily to join in the father and son embrace. Without any hesitation, that was exactly what she did. Oliver then transferred his hands on top of the head of each child. This was his family, his own family. Connor, his own flesh and blood and Emily, he may not be her biological father but everything in him already loved her like she was his own.

It would have been a perfect picture except Felicity, the woman who would complete his little family wasn't with them. She was somewhere, probably afraid, hungry, all alone and very definitely waiting for him to come to her rescue just like the time he had moved heaven and earth to get his son back.

And as he pulled his little family to him, kissing the top of each of their heads he whispered to both of them the same vow he uttered to himself just a few minutes earlier, he would get her back, get Felicity back, Whatever it took, he would do it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Felicity sputtered, "Who are you!"

"Someone you should be very afraid of, Ms. Smoak," the man answered her sneering at her.

Felicity gripped the arms of the chair tightly to prevent herself from reacting, particularly to prevent showing any fear, which the man noticed. The eye patch he wore over one eye gave him an even more sinister appearance in her eyes.

"Such bravery coming from something so delicate. We will see just how brave you really when perhaps your daughter's life is being threatened?"

Felicity switched to fight mode immediately, unmindful of any injury that may come her way if she pushed her aggressor a little too far, "don't you dare threaten me with my daughter. Don't you even dare hurt a strand of her hair or…"

"Or what Ms. Smoak? What can you do while you're tied up and at my mercy. You see I for one know that in a physical battle your practically useless but arm you with technology, ah…then your true potential is unleashed. That's why we took away everything you may use to your advantage including that watch of yours," wagging a finger close to her face, "the thing is I know more about you than you think I do. The only way for you to get out of your current shall we call it…..dilemma is for you to cooperate and do as you are told. Otherwise, we'll let's just say your daughter's life expectancy may be shorter than you had wished for."

Her brain was going several directions at this point but the one most important thing she needed to know was, "where's my daughter?"

The man pulled up a chair beside her, "at this moment, she is safe. I am not a monster really, I only threaten if need be. She may not be physically in my clutches right now but I have 24/7 access to her. That I can assure you of."

Felicity thought, racking her brain. Her last image of her daughter was that she was in the arms of Barry Allen, her oldest and most trusted friend Barry. So she was safe. Barry would never betray her, he was like the brother she never had. She was almost 100% sure that the Queens, particularly Oliver had her little girl now, tucked away safe inside the Queen Mansion.

So while physically her daughter wasn't in the clutches of the evil man in front of her, he somehow had access to her, as he put it 24/7. So discounting the Barry and any of the Queens, it could be anyone with access to the Queens or even, a gadget that gave the evil man remote access to her daughter, a bug, a tracking device, or something that was technology based.

"Care to share your thoughts?" the man sneered at her, leaning back on his chair.

"What do you want from me? And who are you!" Felicity redirected the conversation.

The man shrugged, "okay, maybe it's time you know something about me. My name is Slade, Slade Wilson. I'm a businessman, just like you are. Mine is more of the supply and demand type, I specialize in particular bits and pieces. My clientele includes Businessmen, militia groups, private contractors, government agencies, tyrants, dictators even countries, and some of them are not even third-world banana republics. I'm not really very picky as long as they are willing to pay top dollar. This time what I am in need of is information, that's where you come in Ms. Smoak. Let's talk about you."

Slade Wilson took a chair and leaned into her personal space, his one eye critically going over every detail of her face almost as if memorizing every mole and pore.

"Felicity Meghan Smoak, graduated top of her class MIT 2009, double majored in Computer Science and Cyber Security and founded and runs a successful online game design company. Quite a feet for someone who was abandoned as a child by her father and left to her own devices by her mother."

Felicity couldn't prevent a short sharp breath that escaped her. How could someone who she didn't know have such an insight in her life. The most important, carefully guarded secrets some of which she had herself buried.

"All that you have achieved probably makes you quite a role model in the eyes of most, I have myself been glued to the news lately as they sing your praises, consider you a hero for your act of bravery for someone who is of no relation to you. Or is he? The media has been pretty sure you and Mr. Queen have developed quite a relationship."

"Is that what this is about? Another kidnap for ransom attempt, abduct me and get the Queens to pay up. The first attempt wasn't successful so you're attempting a variation of that by abducting me this time?" Felicity dared to ask her captor.

Slade just chuckled in reaction for a few seconds, "you really underestimate your own worth Ms. Smoak. What you can do, what you are capable of doing with proper guidance say….by me, is greater than the millions any one may be willing to pay for you. No my dear Felicity, you being here has nothing to do with Oliver Queen or any of the Queens but it has everything to do with you and what you can do for me."

Felicity gulped again trying to process what the man had just said, "but all I am is someone who dabbles around with designing games."

Slade stood up from the chair he was seated on and walked around Felicity, touching the skin on her neck ever so slightly leaving goosebumps on their wake before he touched her now loose high ponytail and gripped it tightly forcing head to pull back.

"Don't even try to sell yourself short Ms. Smoak. What you can do is what put you in my purview in the first place. Though you obviously don't advertise the fact, you also have one other hobby that is actually an asset I am very much in need of right now. Like I said, I've done my research well. You Ms. Smoak are a world-class hacker with superior capabilities that put you in quite an elite group. That elite group, I count seven, their use to be more but alas, the last two I have worked with chose to test me. Fortunately for me, you were always in my radar largely because I'm always in the lookout for new talent and the plus factor that you live around my neck of the woods."

"So you see my dear Felicity," Slade continued finally letting go of her ponytail making Felicity groan out unconsciously, "we were always meant to meet someday. That someday has come today."

Slade rolled her chair forward until it reached the sophisticated computer set up.

"What is needed to be done is simple really. Unfortunately it is not among my many fine talents and I seem to lack a hacker at the moment since he took an untimely plunge in the river a few days ago. I've left an instruction paper," pointing a finger to a single white sheet to the right of the keyboard. "I suggest you read then go about what needs to be done. I'm giving you two hours to access the data. Just in case you're thinking of doing something, I'd like to tell you right now that I have remote access to whatever you will be doing here, what you see and what you will be doing, I will know about. We don't want to mar that porcelain skin of yours if you try to pull a fast one on me. Jason," a younger man moved from the darkness to stand beside them, "Jason here will be near you just in case."

With that final warning Slade stepped out of the door.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The Queen family where gathered in the home office of Oliver. Despite it being almost mid morning already, every single member of the Queen clan had chosen not to go about their normal routine and instead just stay inside the Mansion, particularly gather near Oliver.

The children Connor and Emily had also been excused from school for the day so they were also with the adults, half for their safety the other half because Oliver just refused for them to leave his sight.

The police had been there and gone led by Detective Lance who was strangely sympathetic to them using an unfamiliarly soft voice mainly when he talked to Emily Smoak.

Barry Allen had also made an appearance earlier, and after another talk with the Detective, the Detective had shared with them that they narrowed it down to two theories, one, it had nothing to do with the Queen and totally something to do with Felicity, principally with her company. The second one was that it was connected with the Queens after the very public attachment the Smoaks had with the Queens, it was possible that she was a victim of an attempted ransom but the lack of immediate contact with the Queen ruled that as a lower possibility.

Oliver was looking out the windows and into the gardens that had just a few weeks ago held very pleasant memories for him, his and Felicity's very first date. For despite her not terming it that, he did consider it as one.

He rubbed his face in frustration as he turned around appraising the people inside the room. His parents occupied the twin classic armchairs that fronted his work desk, the kids were seated on the floor currently engaged in a game of building blocks with John Diggle, bless the man for distracting the kids with games. Finally, he glanced at his sister frowning at the picture of her beside Barry Allen, shaking his head to clear his mind of that telling himself that if there was a story there, it was to be for another day. Today, every single cell in his body was dedicated to Felicity Smoak, and just her.

The ringing of his phone interrupted them, seeing it was the office from the caller ID, he almost did not bother answering it but decided he needed something. At first all the information was rubbish to him, his mind was slow in registering what was being said but then his brain finally caught up. Someone had attempted to breach the QC secure servers, the same ones that had firewalls of the best and most expensive kind. When he was fed the information that the few second breach was in the Applied Sciences back-up servers, his body perked up.

On top of everything else, this wasn't happening today. Despite assurances from the head of IT that it was just a breach and upon double-checking they were confident that it was nothing significant, and that it was just protocol for him to call the current head of QC with this information, this had Oliver on alert.

The timing of it all may be significant. Maybe Felicity's abduction was just a distraction. He knew he was grasping at straws, but at this point he was a desperate man. And desperate men sometimes grasped at straws.

He turned to the man he knew he could consult about this just as soon as the conversation ended, calling out his name and startling him in the process because at that very moment he was making puppy eyes at the man's younger sister.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Felicity was a good hacker. No that wasn't true she was one of the best, she knew it and Slade Wilson knew it too. That made her greater than great, so if she wanted her breach not to be noticed, she would have done that. But leaving her electronic footprint in the system was the only way she could think of to alert someone, anyone, hopefully someone who understood what this was.

She knew it was a long shot, putting all her hopes on the IT department of QC and hoping they would recognize this, QC was one of the best after all, they should hire the best people. So maybe pinning her hopes on QC's IT was not such a long shot after all.

Thankfully Jason proved to be more bored than anything else. His boss didn't allow any electronic device inside her 'prison' therefore Jason had no cellphone to amuse him, all he did was walk around like a lost boy and occasionally glance at her half-heartedly, some guard he turned out to be. She was 100% sure this man wasn't the one who grabbed her. Nope that man would be more alert than this one. Thank god for small miracles, the clear disinterest of her guard allowed her to send out the mini-footprint on the QC server.

Slade had tasked her to breach the servers of not only QC, but two other companies in Starling City company's Merlyn Global and Kord Industries. He wanted specific information on a project the three companies had been working on, a top secret advance stealth tech that was silently commission in three parts between QC, MG & KI obviously so no one company would have all the data in one place by an anonymous client. Slade had tasked Felicity to hack that top-secret information from the three companies so he could probably sell it to the highest bidder, technology of that kind in the wrong hands could be a very powerful weapon. Felicity didn't put it pass Slade to already have a buyer and financier at this point.

Her two hours were almost up, and she did as she was instructed more to give her time than anything else, because crashing the servers of a company as big as Queen Consolidated wasn't child's play anymore. She really needed someone to interpret the breach as something more than just playtime.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

"I need a better access point. I need to be at the actual mainframes of QC for me to check if you're theory is correct," Barry told Oliver after almost thirty minutes of trying to find anything at all from Oliver's laptop that had an access pass to the QC servers.

"I know it's a long shot Barry, it may be nothing but I just have a feeling about it. I may be asking too much from you by asking you to do this," Oliver told Barry, his voice held a level of helplessness to it.

"If there is even just half a percentage chance that this could be Felicity and I didn't do anything about it, I'd kill myself for not doing anything at all."

Oliver nodded to Barry, momentarily unsure if he should be with Barry or stay with his family, thankfully the decision was taken out of his hands.

"Why don't I take Barry to QC. Just make the call to IT I'll do the rest Oliver. You're needed more here, as we said, this is a long shot," John Diggle said as he approached Oliver who looked to his parents for guidance and saw both of them nodding their heads.

Oliver gave John a nod then shook Barry's hand as a gesture of his gratitude but as soon as the two men left, Oliver was once again consumed with frustration. It was almost mid-day already and they still had nothing.

In the meantime Barry had texted Cisco to meet him at the QC headquarters. If this were indeed related to Felicity, it wouldn't help to have Cisco with him. In this instance it was all hands on deck.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Two hours later Slade was back in the room with Felicity. He was now shifting through the data that Felicity had successfully gathered when she was surprised by the big man as he suddenly threw a chair across the room before he menacingly approached Felicity who was now tied again to her chair on the side of the computer bank, "this data is lacking, where is the rest of it!"

Felicity was tempted to roll her eyes at the gargantuan tantrum the big man was having complete with a lot of grunting, she really hated the damsel in distress vibe she felt at the moment and attempted to improve her posture.

"Merlyn and Kord were easy enough to hack and get the information from, QC is another level all together. Their system is almost impregnable."

Slade felt the need to grunt again at the top of his voice in frustration, "this information is useless if I don't have the complete data!"

True enough Slade was speaking the truth. The project was awarded to three different entities tasked to build parts of a highly advanced bioweapon from what she could figure out as separate contracts. This was the strategy by the one who commission them so that no one entity would be able to piece together what they were ultimately building.

"I could only do so much with remote access. If all the data is really necessary, the only way to access that is directly through their servers."

Slade stepped in front of her and hunched down, "you want to go to QC and access the data I need from there?" Slade with his one good eye gave her a penetrating look as if attempting to read her thoughts. "I know how smart you are woman, and I know you are trying to play me."

"I'm not," Felicity said innocently.

Slade reached out a hand to grab Felicity's chin giving her another one of his penetrating gazes. "Felicity Smoak, unfortunately for you I don't trust you at all. If indeed going to QC to get me the final piece of this program is what is needed then we will both go, you and me. Now what do you say to that?"

Felicity's head sunk down to her chest in defeat as she tried to think of a back-up plan, this was QC after all, the Queens should have top-notch security. Hell, maybe Oliver was in QC. Did Slade intend to go right now, in the middle of the day or was everything going to go down at night? All she could do was ask herself these little insignificant questions.

"Oh and Ms. Smoak," Slade once again demanded Felicity's attention, "remember, I have access to your daughter, if that little brain of yours is planning anything but a solution to get me that information you need, the consequences will toll heavily on your little girl. If there is one thing you should know about me, I am a man of my word. Your daughter's life is in your hands."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

reviews and comments...screams!


	8. Me and My Shadow

AUTHOR'S NOTE: So much has happened this week, that Arrow premiere was everything I could have asked for, well maybe not that last scene. But still...all around goodness with Olicity, screams!

This chapter has much more action in it, don't kill me please for how the chapter ended but I was in tears writing that last line Felicity said to Oliver that I felt I had to stop there. But I promise, no I don't really because the next chapter is only half written I don't know where it will end quite yet.

As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:

Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)

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Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies

Ao3 - lollipopdiaries

Wattpad - lollipopdiairies

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Chapter 8: Me and my shadow

"Anything?" Oliver asked John over the phone. He was still at the Queen Mansion watching over the kids while John Diggle was still at QC together with Barry and Cisco. They had been there for hours and now sundown has come.

"Barry and Cisco are still hard at work, they got excited a few minutes ago after shifting through some information, I think Cisco can walk you through this mumbo jumbo better than I can. I'll pass the phone to him," John said.

Cisco eagerly grabbed the phone from John, "Oliver bro, it's okay to call you bro right? I might have massive news for you but Barry is still reconfirming it. We don't want you to freak out or anything but it's potentially massive, humongous, colossal good news…"

Oliver rubbed his face. It's been quite a frustrating day. "Can't you just tell me what it is?"

On the other side of the phone Cisco took his cue from Barry who finally signaled for his to hand over the phone.

"Hey Oliver, Barry here. We didn't want to get your hopes up unless we confirmed it. But I think we found her, or more to the point, she's found a way to us. That glitch your IT team recorded earlier, that was without any doubt Felicity's doing. You see Felicity has a hobby you don't know about she hacks, as in computers. If you're as good as she is, and she's one of the best, you'll have a coding signature that is unique to you. That's what the QC system revealed when we isolated the glitch. Cisco and I are 100% sure it's her. No one but those familiar with her work could have spotted it."

Oliver pushed the phone away for a few seconds as he breathed a long sigh of relief trying not to celebrate too much because Felicity sending out a coded distress signal like this meant she was in very grave danger and if he was reading the situation right it was her ability at the computers that got her abducted. Whoever took her had her at their mercy.

"Oliver you there?" Barry asked after the lack of response from Oliver.

"Ah yeah, sorry. I was just…."

"I know, we all are. But that means she's alive somewhere out there. Whoever has her probably gave her access to computers. We still haven't fully put together the pieces, why QC and why Applied Sciences Division particularly. Mr. Diggle said it was okay to dig through the files and projects of the division, I hope that's fine? I realize most if not all of the information is confidential and top secret."

Oliver tapped his phone on his temple before he answered, "it's fine Barry, I authorized the full access. We'll have to have you sign disclosure papers later but that's not important now. I'm heading your way right now, it's nine in the evening, the kids are in bed and there is where I'd want to be right now."

"Okay man, I'll give John the notice. And can you pick up some dinner on the way? Cisco has been pestering Mr. Diggle about pizza for the last hour. It's just the three of us here."

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The black van was parked to the side of the QC building containing Slade Wilson, two of his men and Felicity Smoak. Right behind the van was another smaller one that had four more of Slade's men.

Slade turned to Felicity from the passenger seat of the black van, "I do not have to remind you again what may happen if you so much as deviate a miniscule of the plan."

Stepping out of the van first, Slade gave his men instructions before he open the side door and signaled for Felicity to alight.

"You're going to be behind me by two steps, not one or three, two. You will need this," Slade handed her a tablet.

Felicity hugged the tablet to her chest. She had been formulating a plan in her mind during the last few hours all of which have been tested and eliminated. She would just have to do as she was told. She wasn't going to play around with her daughter's life hanging on the balance. Even if the threat were empty, although that was highly unlikely given the thoroughness of how Slade worked, she still wouldn't risk it unnecessarily.

"We scouted the place out earlier. Most of the employees are done for the day but our inside man reported unusual activity the whole afternoon on the IT floor, particularly the server rooms. There are still people in that floor right now although our man said last count, it was down to just three," a man in all black reported as he approached Slade from the dark.

Slade absorbed the information, as did Felicity who was in perfect hearing distance. Her brain was suddenly going a thousand a millisecond, were they just regular IT personnel, or was her glitch successful and those people here for a reason. She quickly masked her face and instead gave out a vibe of a slightly frazzled woman, less Slade be clued in on her sudden excitement.

The one-eyed man turned to her, "the tablet is for later, not to used for anything else. Remember my warning Ms. Smoak."

Without even nodding at Slade, Felicity went to work as they continued to walk boldly into the front entrance of the building.

Felicity held her breath when the lobby security guard finally spotted the small contingent, feeling momentary remorse for him thinking he would be dead any second but was surprised when the guard almost bowed in deference to Slade who acknowledge him with a wave of the hand, "everything in order?"

"As instructed Sir. Marcus already informed you of our unexpected guests this evening?"

Slade grunted then nodded again to acknowledge, only saying one word, "who?"

"Outsiders, they were brought in by Mr. Queen's head of security, Mr. John Diggle earlier. They've been in the 19th floor all afternoon 'til now."

Slade turned a suspicious eye toward Felicity, "it's almost unheard off for a company like QC to bring outsiders into what you considered as an unhackable system Ms. Smoak, if I find out you had something to do with this…..well, I don't want to keep repeating myself."

Felicity swallowed then stammered, "I'm as surprised as you are, but maybe this is common practice in QC. I'm not familiar with how they operate."

Slade gave her another long glance before he told her to get back to work turning to his minions to revise his plan of action. One thing that had made Slade successful in his trade, he always came prepared, he had back-up plans for his back-up plan.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oliver said he's coming here and yes Cisco, I told him about your pizza request," Barry spoke to John first when he put down the phone then turned to Cisco who gave a fist pump for the pizza.

John nodded then pointed back to the screen, "you sure about what you told Oliver?"

"Very. Like I told Oliver, a hacker's footprint is unique to them. It's also virtually hard to know who the hacker is unless you're familiar with their work. Cisco and I are definitely, without a doubt sure this coding is 100% Felicity. I'd know that anywhere."

John started to pace which had Barry and Cisco both looking at one another, thankfully John decided to take pause and glanced back at them throwing both of them a question, "I'm just a little lost here. Was Felicity hacking into QC part of her abductors plan or was this just Felicity finding a window of opportunity to get in touch with us."

Barry was about to answer but John lifted a hand to stall him as John answered his phone upon on the first ring. Whoever called John gave him bad news this much Barry could tell from the way John's expression darkened before he ended the call.

"We are about to have visitors, I've had my extra security on standby just in case. They just reported a group of about five people including a woman who matched the exact description of Felicity Smoak enter the building about two minutes ago. Heads up you two," pointing to both of them.

"I don't know if I should be excited or scared, or maybe both…"Cisco said, mopping his temple with the back of his hand.

John signaled Barry to keep Cisco quiet while John searched the room with his eyes one more time this time with a new purpose, evaluating different scenarios that may play-out and at the same time making plans for each scenario all while speed dialing Oliver to update him. Unfortunately the heads up from his team only gave him a minute before the server room was breached making John abandon his phone on top of the table while it was still in the process of dialing.

The door burst open with two armed men entering the room first followed by the big bulky one-eyed man, Felicity then another man brought up the rear.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Last time I checked this was Queen Consolidated not the Game On headquarters. Don't try to talk your way out of this one Ms. Smoak, I have a strong suspicion their being here have zero to do with QC and 100% to do with you. Somehow you managed to make contact. You do remember our conversation about consequences, don't you?"

"No, no, no. I don't know why they're here. The last time I saw Barry he was holding my daughter in his arms while your man was holding a gun to my head."

"The thing is Ms. Smoak, I don't believe you. You have one last chance here. You know what I need, I don't like to keep repeating myself," he told Felicity who immediately pushed Barry away from the chair so she could sit down.

Slade then focused his attention on the other three in the room, "Mr. Diggle, your weapon please. I can't see anyway this turns out in your favor seeing its four armed men against one of you. We want to avoid bloodshed as much as possible. Despite what you might think the sight of blood still makes me slightly queasy."

John calculated his chances one last time before he lifted his hands up. His weapon was quickly taken from him as well as his back-up gun, which they found tucked under his sock.

John, as well as Barry and Cisco were then all tied up and placed in the corner of the room guarded by two men as Felicity went to work with Slade seated right beside her.

"You know this actually works in my favor and yours too. Instead of little Emily being the victim of your insolence, I'll start with these two here. Barry Allen and Cisco Ramon. You see, I did my research and even unexpected surprises like this one can turn out to be better than what I had originally planned. Which one would it be Ms. Smoak, I'll give you the gift of choosing which one of your friends will suffer the consequences of your misstep."

"I don't think it should be me," Cisco interjected, "I was just here for the pizza."

"Silence!" Slade commanded and indeed the room went silent including the sound of Felicity typing away. "Just for that, you are going first, pizza boy." Slade signaled his man to grab Cisco before he turned back to Felicity, "I didn't tell you to stop typing did I?"

After a brief remorseful glance at Cisco, Felicity went back to typing away at the computer.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size and stay away from the boy," John said challenging Slade.

"Who are you calling boy!" Cisco started to protest but stopped when John gave him a look saying 'I'm trying to save your life so follow my lead."

John just stood up from being seated on the floor and Slade gave him his full attention before saying, "don't mind if I do," out of nowhere he aimed the gun at Diggle and just fired a shot sending the big man down again and Felicity, Barry and Cisco screaming in shock.

"Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God," Cisco started to chant while Barry quickly slid beside the fallen man to check on him.

All Felicity could do was just look from where she was seated, her hands still on her mouth in shock before she heard Slade's voice say again, "continue Ms. Smoak, the sooner this is done, the safer it is for the rest of your friends. It's just a flesh wound. If I wanted him dead I could have easily shot him in the head. No need for all the drama."

Barry made eye contact with John to confirm Slade's words.

"Not quite a flesh wound," John grunted, "it's still a bullet to the thigh. I'll live." John told Barry to assure him and Cisco who was still hyperventilating saying something like it could have been him.

Felicity proceeded to focus on her typing again, Slade was right. The sooner she gave him the information she wanted the sooner all this would be over. She just hoped Slade would also leave her friends and her unharmed as promised, well mostly unharmed John was shot after all although the man shrugged it off like it was just a mosquito bite.

Unknown to all of them, John's attempt to call Oliver before they were rudely interrupted had been successful. Oliver had answered the phone while on his bike and was about to end the call when John failed to answer when he heard faint voices in the background. He placed the phone more firmly in his ear when he realized what he was eavesdropping on.

"Jason, have the men report back their positions every two minutes, we have a genius in our midst," Slade commented obviously shading on Felicity, "we don't want anymore surprises."

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Oliver was just a block away from QC when he had gotten the mysterious call from John, after realizing what was happening he decided to leave his bike a block away and just hike the rest of the way.

Finally reaching the corner of his building, he took a long breath to center himself. It wouldn't help anyone if he were all over the place but overhearing a foreign sounding voice mention Felicity's name just pumped up his adrenalin.

She was here. Felicity was in QC right now and from the sound of it, she, Cisco, Barry and John where all inside the server room of QC on the 19th floor currently hostages of a madman if his voice was anything for Oliver to go by.

Now was his chance to prove to Felicity and to himself that he was a man of his word. His vow to rescue Felicity playing like a mantra in his mind that he almost missed the approach of a man who called out to him in a whisper.

"Mr. Queen," the whisper startling Oliver for a second elevating his temperament before he recognized the man.

"Matt." Oliver acknowledged the man.

"Mr. Queen sorry to startle you, but I saw you lurking. Also, I've been trying to get in touch with Mr Diggle again but couldn't get him on the phone. I've given him heads up on some intruders and he instructed me to circle back and check the perimeter. I was supposed to report back to him a few minutes ago."

Oliver stared at the man for almost a full minute, half trying to recall whom the man was in the Queen security team and half trying to formulate a plan of attack on the fly. Satisfied, he gave the man a nod of acknowledgement as he mentally remembered the man was one of John's most trusted. Between the two of them, he hoped they had a better chance of rescuing the others.

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"Oh Ms. Smoak, progress report please."

Felicity paused in her typing as Slade spoke, how could she not since he was leaning into her, his breath on her ear as he tucked his chin on her shoulder his one good eye staring at the screen of the computer.

She took a deep breath then plugged in the tablet Slade had given her, "I'm starting a copy of the program right now. Oh my god, I think I know what this is! You….you're not really going to use that weapon are you?" Felicity said in a panicked voice still looking at her tablet screen.

"Is it done? Is the transfer completed?"

Felicity gave the tablet screen a final look before she answered the man affirmatively.

Slade pushed Felicity aside to check the screens, pushing a few buttons on the tablet. So much for not knowing much about computers, Felicity thought. From her vantage she could clearly see Slade doing a quick diagnostic of the contents of the tablet including linking the information Felicity had hacked from both Merlyn and Kord. After a full minute she heard Slade grunt before he turned back to Felicity.

"You did good Ms. Smoak," he told her tapping the tablet, "I have one more task for you. Come, it's time to leave."

"Wait, what? No that's not what you said. All I needed to do was give you this information then we are over. You'll remove the threat from my daughter. That's what you said!"

Slade's demeanor changed from relative calm to full flare in a second, pulling Felicity roughly from the chair she was seated on and on too his chest giving her the scariest of looks to go with his evil smile, "your daughter and friends," he nodded to the three men seated on the floor, "are safe, I've kept my promise. Nobody is dead. But I have more things for you to do. You see, I'm in need of a top-notch computer expert and you're it, Ms. Smoak. Come voluntarily with me and I will make good on my word that nobody dies today," as if on cue Slade's me lifted their guns, one each was aimed at the three men, "unless of course you chose insubordination over the lives of your friends. It's your choice really."

Felicity pushed against Slade's chest to be free of him before she glanced back at Barry, Cisco and John, her eyes locking with John for a few seconds before she turned back to Slade with a slight nod.

"You see that wasn't really hard was it. Time to go Ms. Smoak," Slade pulled her to his side roughly again.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oliver entered the lobby together with Matt who acted like his bodyguard. Oliver Queen owned the building after all. He had every right to be there even if it was during a weird hour of the night.

The lobby guard was momentarily stunned upon spotting the QC heir before he jogged to where Oliver was, "Mr. Queen, wha…what brings you here tonight?"

Oliver noticed that the guard was a little on the edge deciding to give the man a stare down before answering his question, "I was just in the neighborhood, needed some documents that couldn't wait 'til tomorrow. Everything alright," Oliver checked the nameplate of the night guard before he continued, "Larson?"

The night guard took a moment to assess whether the question was loaded before he answered Oliver a little anxiously, his eyes looked to the right for a few seconds before he looked back at Oliver and his bodyguard Matt. "Everything is fine Sir. It's a quiet night."

Oliver may not be trained in the art of subterfuge like the professionals were but really the guard was giving himself away with the nervous energy he was giving. Oliver also noticed the guard looking consciously to his right every few seconds, he turned to Matt who gave him a subtle nod that Oliver interpreted to mean he was aware of the situation, or at least that was what Oliver thought having never worked with the man directly before.

Matt made his move by pretending to walk around until he reached the back of the guard surprising him by lifting the guard's gun before the guard even realized what happened then pressed an elbow down on the guard's windpipe.

Matt then threw the guards gun to Oliver who was able to catch it just in time before several men appeared from the general direction the guard had been looking at every few seconds and started to fire at Oliver and Matt who were quickly able to jump to the circular lobby reception stone structure shielding them from the barrage of gunfire.

Slade gave his men a final instruction to make sure the bonds on Cisco, Barry and the injured John Diggle remained as tight as can be before he pushed Felicity forward and toward the elevator.

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As if Slade expected what was happening in the lobby he grabbed Felicity roughly again and placed her in front of him just before the elevator doors open. Slade first noted one of his men was lying dead on the floor just a few steps from where they were and another one was bleeding not far, he then nodded to his machine gun carrying minions who were currently on either side of him and Felicity to precede them.

The minions introduced themselves to the melee of gunfire ongoing by just randomly shooting all around them in the process they were able to clip Matt on the shoulder bringing the man down and leaving Oliver all by himself against Slade and his men.

"Mr. Queen, this is a surprise," Slade stepped out of the elevator with Felicity still firmly in front of him, a gun to the side of her head, "but then this day has been full of it. Seems like the rumors weren't wrong, Ms. Smoak does hold a special place in that heart of yours, well it's either that or you have a thing for one of the boys currently tied up in the 19th floor. Which one is it, your trusted muscled right hand man, that geeky boy or the overzealous one?"

"Let Felicity go!"

"Oh Mr. Queen you really don't think it's that easy. Tell me Ms. Smoak right in front of Mr. Queen," Slade leaned in, letting the barrel of his gun trace her cheek while his other hand circled around her waist as he talked to both her and Oliver, "would you like you like to go with Mr. Queen right now knowing what may be the consequence of that action or would you willing come with me?"

Felicity hiccupped, tears streaming down her cheeks as she faced Oliver with a look that made him want to just hold her in his arms forever, "I'm sorry Oliver, so sorry, but I have to go with Slade. Promise me you'll take care of my baby. Keep her safe. Tell her I lover her so much, that I'm doing this for her, to keep her safe. "

"Enough of this novella drama! We have to go Ms. Smoak. Until we meet again Mr. Queen." Slade then pulled Felicity violently by the arm as the remainder of his minion took the rear guns still aimed at Oliver who could do nothing but shout out a promise.

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I don't think I'm really evil ending this chapter this way.


	9. Angels and Demons

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Here it is the 9th installment of DBD. I love hearing from you all regarding your opinions but I have a direction I'm gong with this story and I like to write ahead say two to three chapters ahead, the action begins in this one.

A big thank you to all who have been following this story. Hoping you continue to do so during the next ten chapters! Yup, that's right...at least 10 more. The next one is going to be posted in a week or two...as requested by my Pinoy friends who love some smut.

As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:

Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)

Tumblr - everythinglollipop

Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies

Ao3 - lollipopdiaries

Wattpad - lollipopdiairies

Chapter 9 – Angels and Demons

Detective Lance was looking at the scene before him before he shook his head in frustration. Once again Oliver Queen was front and center in this latest saga.

Lance had just exited the shot-out lobby of Queen Consolidated that now resembled a warzone more than the elegant and plush corporate lobby it once was. Three dead men, a QC security guard and two men who were part of the group that assaulted QC were being bagged and tagged by SCPDCSI inside the lobby. Not even a few steps outside, he spotted the man of the hour, Oliver Queen who was at the door of the ambulance that had his right hand man being bandaged on the shoulder.

As Lance approached, he frowned at the picture of familiar men included in their circle, Barry Allen and Cisco Ramon both men identified with Felicity Smoak. From what Lance had gathered from Matt the bodyguard who was also shot, the woman of the hour Felicity Smoak was actually inside the QC building with a man identified only as Slade and a few other of his men. This Slade person had Felicity under the gun to do his bidding the purpose of which was apparently some data that could only be accessed in the QC mainframe.

Lance was no amateur sleuth. Hell he was the top detective of Starling City. He knew the men gathered around that ambulance van being here at the same time as Felicity was no coincidence. It was more than obvious that the group of men before him had withheld vital information related to the kidnapping case of Ms. Smoak. He would get the information out of them if it killed him. He was tired being jerked around by these men.

"Queen," Lance sneered by way of greeting the younger man. "Would you like to share with me what the hell happened here?"

"Detective now may not be the time with all due respect. John and the others are still being attended to by the EMTs."

"Your account of what happened is all I care about at the moment. As far as I can see, you aren't being attended to by the EMTs. The statements of your bodyman and these two," pointing to both Barry and Cisco, "can be scheduled for a little later," Detective Lance challenged Oliver.

Seeing no way out, Oliver conceded," I was on the phone with John," pointing to his bodyguard, "a few minutes earlier and with nothing better to do I told John I'd join them, them meaning Barry and Cisco here," this time pointing to the two younger men, "who I had asked to look into something for me. I just got here and walked into the mayhem that was happening at the lobby. I was shocked to see Felicity and this man who called himself Slade had her at gunpoint and was threatening her with something that I couldn't quite understand yet."

Lance's eyes narrowed, "so you're saying this Slade character has some kind of hold over Ms. Smoak and Ms. Smoak has no choice but to do his bidding? Any idea what that is? And while we're at it, anything to share why this Slade guy targeted QC particularly? What he was really after that made him bold enough to come here. "

"I honestly don't know detective. I've never heard of this guy Slade. I have no idea what he would want that was so important that he had to bring Felicity here at gunpoint and cause so much destruction. I'm really at a loss here. Your guess is as good as mine. But I will get to the bottom of this, I will find out what the hell he wanted so badly. However, right now my priority is Felicity, just Felicity."

"His threat was about Emily, how that's possible..." John shared the information, looking at Oliver solemnly.

"Hold on," Lance interrupted him, "that's Ms. Smoak's daughter right? Isn't she staying with you Queen at the Queen Mansion?"

Instead of answering the detective's query, Oliver turned to John, "John."

"I know what's on your mind Oliver, the men have been vetted but it helps to be extra vigilant. I'll have a special team dedicated for Emily. Hell I'll do it myself, be with the little girl 24/7 if I have to."

Oliver leaned back his hands clasping the bumper of the ambulance, head bowed remembering Felicity's parting request as Slade whisked her away as it played in repeat in his brain. Protect Emily. Keep her safe.

Could this Slade person be so clever he had somehow secured access to Felicity's daughter inside the Queen Mansion! His home was so heavily secured and guarded, a fortress. Was this man as skilled and formidable as he presented himself to be?

There were so many things grabbing Oliver's attention but he knew without a doubt that the key to this all was him needing to know everything about this man called Slade. Who he was, what his agenda was. This was his number one priority, next to Felicity and Emily of course.

In the meantime he had the urge to get back to the Mansion and see for himself that Emily was safe and sound, at least for now. If the little girl was being used by this Slade guy as leverage against Felicity, he needed to tilt the balance in their favor by eliminating Slade's access to the little girl he had come to love like his own.

"I have to go," Oliver said simply then signaled John, "detective, I will answer all of your questions, we," including John, Barry and Cisco in his next statement, "will all be at the Queen Mansion in the morning. I suggest you be there to get their statements. "

"What are you planning to do Queen?" Lance looked at Oliver with narrowed eyes.

Oliver rubbed his face in frustration, "keep my family safe, that's my plan." Oliver simply said before he turned away from the detective starting to walk away presumably toward his abandoned ducati a block down.

Lance frowned again, watching the retreating back of the man when his thoughts was interrupted by John, "I'd hate to be in Oliver's shoes right now. Cut the man some slack. Felicity and Emily, they're family to him as much as his own flesh and blood are, there are just things a man has to do for family."

Lance gave John a stare down before he nodded, "keep your boy in line. We don't want this to spiral out of control. I'll be at the Mansion by nine tomorrow, I expect all of you to be there," Lance said in parting as he pointed to the three remaining men in front of him.

***OLICITY IS ENDGAME***

Felicity had fallen asleep in the van, maybe from the exhaustion of the past two days but she was definitely taking a few more seconds than usual to get back out of her sleep haze until the voice that she had learned to dread called out her name.

"Ms. Smoak, come on we don't have all night."

Felicity blinked in surprise at the sight before her. This was definitely unexpected. This was not the place they had left earlier in the night, this place was, should she say a Castle bigger than the Queen Mansion and just as heavily or not more heavily guarded, a bastion that represented Slade to a T.

"Ms. Smoak, welcome to my home, at least my home away from home. This will be your home now for the time being as part of shall we say, entourage. You will have a room in the main house with all of the creature comforts a woman like you would need at your disposal. You see, I am not as archaic as you may think I am. In fact, I've even gone the extra mile to make sure you feel right at home. Come."

Felicity stumbled trough the steps leading to the main door of the Mansion still not believing that this was happening. She was still in a prison, no doubt about that, but her 'prison' was now being upgraded.

She couldn't help but feel the goosebumps as she crossed the threshold. Inside were men standing in attention, chest out as their supreme leader approached every inch the demon to her angel.

While a few eyed her with curiosity, most eyes remained on Slade as he demanded attention even without mouthing a word. From a corner somewhere, a woman in her mid-fifties appeared. Head bowed down until Slade hollered out to her, "Greta, show our guest to her room." As the woman named Greta lifted her eyes and locked with Slade for a few seconds, an understanding passed between them before Slade continued, "yes, that room."

Slade then turned to Felicity, his hand suddenly lifted to her cheek catching her unaware, "rest tonight Felicity," it was the first time Slade had called her name out like it purred and it took everything in Felicity not to step back and cringed. "We have work to do tomorrow. You see," Slade placed a finger on her nose and playfully patted it, "I am not all bad, just mostly misunderstood." He even smirked before he turned and walked away in dismissal.

Now than Felicity was alone with Greta, not really alone totally because there were still men all around the house standing in attention, Felicity took her guard down and relaxed a bit.

She was timidly following Greta until they finally reached their destination and a door was opened. She was ushered inside a grand room that had feminine touches of it everywhere including a luxurious en-suite. Well, this was prison heaven Felicity thought out exhaustedly, if she was in love with this elegance that meant she was more tired than she thought. Thankfully, Greta just pointed out where everything was including apparently a wardrobe change then left her alone in the room.

Felicity sunk into the bed that had a mattress that was divine, her instinct was to close her eyes and just let her exhaustion lead her but she had been in the same clothes for two days now that her body screamed for her to take advantage of the comforts before it was taken away from her.

She padded to a walk-in closet that Greta had pointed to and was surprised to find not just a change of clothes but, mountains of them, arranged by color, all in her size. She first frowned at the familiarity of the styles, then it dawned on her. These were actually hers, her whole closet of clothes from her house. This revelation led her to check out all the other things in the closet, shoes, bags, underwear, every single oe of them hers. As she walked back outside of the closet she noticed some other items that were suspiciously like those found in her actual bedroom at home. On closer inspection, they actually where!

Her owl clock that she knew was hers since it had a distinct chip on it, because it fell to the floor in her college dorm room. A couple of her tiny purple pillows, definitely hers and oh dear, frame photographs that used to be located on top of her bed side table where now here, beside her bedside table.

Creepy much. What the hell was Slade planning to do! Felicity stood in the middle of the carpeted room just looking around in shock.

***OLICITY IS ENDGAME***

Oliver silently opened the door, making sure that it would not squeak so as not to wake it's occupant. As he stepped a little closer into the room, he saw her face. A nightlight shone just bright enough to give her face a shadow. Seeing her in tranquil sleep gave him at least some peace. She was safe. Emily was safe.

Finding an armchair near the corner of the little girl's room, he took a seat and just continued to watch her, his mind wandering to the events of earlier tonight.

Who was this Slade guy? He had to get John and maybe Barry and Cisco who were undoubtedly going to be more able to find electronic information on the guy faster than either him or John to help.

What this Slade guy wanted from Felicity was now pretty obvious. He needed someone of her skill level with the computers. There was definitely a lot more to Felicity that he knew, she was even more the genius than he first thought she was. Unfortunately her skill and brain was what got her into the crosshairs of this Slade guy.

What was the information they needed so badly that they had the get it at QC. He knew based on what Barry had shared that Felicity was a first class hacker, therefore she could probably break into the secure firewall of QC and get what was needed, why the need to go the QC. What did QC have that was so important to Slade?

Dammit, there were so many things that he needed information on. But for the life of him, he couldn't lift himself from the chair in little Emily's room. His instinct to stay put, to stay close the girl was overriding every other impulse he had, he just couldn't not listen to the voice in his head telling him to keep the little girl safe.

And this was how John found Oliver almost two hours later, just contemplating.

"Oliver," John whispered as he slipped into Emily's room where he knew Oliver would be.

"John," Oliver looked at John for just a second before he returned his gaze at the still asleep little girl.

"Oliver, we have information on this Slade guy. Barry and Cisco are down stairs."

Oliver closed his eyes momentarily before he nodded, "I'll be down in a minute."

John nodded, giving one last look to both Oliver and Emily before he stepped out of the room as quietly as he entered but not before telling Oliver that he already posted two guards outside Emily's door and one directly under her bedroom window at least for the remainder of the night.

Oliver knew he would have to leave Emily, taking another deep breath before he stepped closer then sat down on the bed, his elbows to his knees, his hands shielding his face as he silently promised himself again to do everything in his power to keep Emily safe and to rescue Felicity.

Spotting the doll that his sister Thea had given Emily as it teetered dangerously close to the edge of her bed, he repositioned it back near the neck of Emily then leaned down to give her a soft kiss on the temple.

***OLICITY IS ENDGAME***

"What did you find?" Oliver unceremoniously asked as he stepped inside his home office that now transformed into a headquarters of sorts with Barry's and Cisco's laptops spread out on top of a table.

"Oliver, it wasn't easy because the man is good. He's either tech savvy or he has men who are really good working to remove every electronic trace him. But I think we got him. The Slade we are looking for is Slade Wilson. We even uncovered a grainy picture of the man." Barry turned his laptop around to show Oliver.

"How secure is your home wifi connection? Because apparently this Slade guy is wanted by the FBI, CIA and almost every alphabet government agency and we don't want them knocking on your door anytime soon. It might complicate things," Cisco asked Oliver.

Oliver rubbed the back of his neck, "honestly….i really don't know. I just know we have wifi all over the house."

"Hmmmp," Cisco answered still marveling at how some guys are still so clueless with technology, it's the future and Cisco lives and breathes it. "That's okay, it's fine. I mean as long as you don't mind that I re-wired your home system so that our signal is bouncing across the world, the universe even. We're fine. You can thank me later, I'll think of something. But right now, Barry has more news for you, not necessarily good news."

And after that segue by Cisco, the room vibe was even more depressing.

"Hit me with it Barry," Oliver said as he took a seat beside the younger man.

"Well…..Slade Wilson as Cisco already mentioned is one bad dude, one very bad dude. He's into the business of brokering several deals all of which are illegal and post a threat to national security of any nation. He has electronic footsteps all over the world, the latest one being what I think he needed Felicity for. Access into the QC servers that provided information on a prototype of some sort, prototype of a weapon specifications of which were part of a project undertaken by QC for a client, a Lyle Livingston." Barry told everyone solemnly.

"Upon further checking, the same man also appeared to have commissioned projects to Merlyn Global and Kord Industries. Now, Felicity is the hacker I'm only a far, very far second in terms of skill to hers but from what I determined, it looks like schematics of the prototype has also been accessed from MG and KI. And it gets even better. The person who hacked the information was Felicity. It has traces of her electronic footprint, only I can detect that."

Oliver stood up from the chair and started to pace, "so what you're telling me is this Slade Wilson guy used Felicity and her skills to get the plans for a prototype that may or may not be a weapon of mass destruction to probably sell to a waiting buyer? That she's out there defenseless against this madman who has a small army with him and can kill her anytime he wants?" His voice raising several decibels before the sentence ended.

"Oliver," John said his name in an attempt to try to calm him.

"Damn It John! I can't calm down. This is my worst nightmare, hell worst than my worst nightmare."

John approached Oliver and crossed his arms before he said in a perfectly tranquil voice, "so what do you want us to do."

Oliver swallowed hard before he turned to the three men, "my instinct is to try and take this on ourselves, my family has it's own small army. But, Slade is a variable. I cannot risk Felicity's safety and her life by approaching this gung ho. I think we need to at least call in Lance and have his take on this without alerting the government agencies."

John nodded in agreement, he hoped that Oliver had maintained a nugget of level-headedness despite the situation he was in. He was proud of his boy. However, involving the police could go one of two ways. He hoped he made the right decision in guiding Oliver to seek help from the authorities.

***OLICITY IS ENDGAME***

"So any one want to tell me how you suddenly have so much information about this Slade Wilson guy?" Lance gave each of the four men a narrowed look settling it last on Oliver Queen with the shake of his head.

"I think it's better you don't know how. What's more important here now is the who of it. That's why we need your help," Oliver skirted the question.

Lance pocketed his hands, "you know that at some point some higher up agency is going to come in and take over this case. It's only a matter of time. Keeping the information local may work against us."

"Detective, I'm trusting you with this information, in effect I'm putting her life in your hands, at least partially. If this goes above you there's every chance we will be out of the loop, I can't let that happen. That woman has become my life. She and those kids, they're my life. I can't just sit here and do nothing detective."

Lance knew genuine emotion and he saw that in the man standing before him. Yes Oliver Queen was a lot of things and the man still elicited negative emotions in him but he was more than willing to set his personal feelings aside. He not only had a job to do, he also had a family to reunite never mind if 'family' wasn't quite the correct term for it, it still fit as far as he was concerned.

"Mr. Queen, you have my promise that I will do everything in my power to resolve this, that we will get Ms. Smoak back. She doesn't deserve any of this. And whatever happens, you will be in the loop, that's one less thing I want you to worry about."

Oliver breathed a sigh of relief, "thank you detective. I know we've had history and I don't happen to be your favorite person."

Lance brushed Oliver's statement away with a wave of his hand, "let's not go there now. Right now, Ms. Smoak is both of our priorities." Lance looked around the room, "if it's fine with you, I'd like to have some of my men set-up here. The better to keep you informed and for you in turn to share any more information that deem relevant."

Oliver nodded in agreement, "I'll have John coordinate that immediately."

Another day had almost passed before they caught another break in the case, "Queen we might have something." Lance stepped inside a playroom of sorts inside the Mansion that had both Connor and Emily sitting on the floor beside Oliver who tried to distract himself by entertaining the children."

Oliver nodded to the detective then stood up, making sure to check that the room that contained the children was secure before he followed the detective.

*****OLICITY IS ENDGAME*****

"Alpha team in position."

"Bravo team in position."

"Charlie team in position."

One after the other, the SCPD SWAT team reported back to home base which was a van, a block away from the estate that they were all sure housed Slade Wilson and more importantly, Felicity Smoak.

The break in the case was courtesy of Barry Allen and Cisco Ramon who both had foregone sleep in favor of tracking down any and all electronic leads this time armed with more state of the art computers courtesy of course of Oliver Queen himself.

After several dead-ends, they had finally traced the whereabouts of Slade Wilson to an estate almost at the outskirts of Starling City. This was the break they needed.

"As planned, Alpha and Bravo teams will breach from the walls as first assault teams, Charlie team will then come thru the main gate, as second assault team then finally Delta team," Lance looked at around the men that surrounded him that comprised Delta team, a team that was half made up of Queens personal security army upon the insistence of Oliver himself. The team also included both John Diggle and Oliver Queen himself against Lance's personal judgment.

"Remember guys, wait for my command. Barry, you and Echo team," a team comprised purely of technical and computer analysts all inside the police van, "are our eyes and ears. While this op is unconventional," working with the private sector, in this case with Queens personal security force, "we need all the trained manpower we can get. We are looking at least at twenty, say twenty-five men inside the estate according to Echo teams information. God Speed everyone!"

OLICITY IS ENDGAME

In the aftermath of the assault, ten of Slade's men were declared dead as well as three from the SCPD and Queen Security team.

Alpha and Bravo teams had successfully caught Slade's well trained security team napping but Charlie team had suffered the casualties as Slade's team had been able to react immediately.

In the end, Delta team had been lucky that Slade's security was more focused on defending the fort rather than the 'prisoner'.

Slade himself was nowhere to be found when Delta team had first breached the house, encountering minimum resistance from a splinter of Slade's forces left inside the house.

It took them less than fifteen minutes to locate Felicity inside her 'room' which had a single guard outside. Slade was so confident and self-possessed that he thought his whereabouts and this estate was so furtive it had cost him his valued IT specialist.

In the end, Felicity Smoak had been rescued, albeit reluctantly since Felicity still knew the threat Slade had over her daughter was very much real given what she now knew about Slade and who he was. The man definitely did not make idle threats.

While Oliver was part of Delta team, he wasn't part of the team that was allowed by Lance inside the estate. Not only because he was a civilian but, more so because he was Oliver Queen, getting a Queen injured much more dead under his watch was not an option for Lance.

Instead, Oliver was part of Delta teams B group which was to enter only when the estate was considered secure by the A group.

Fortunately John had already radioed to Oliver that they had found Felicity and that he was bringing her out. The moment Oliver had seen Felicity, who was still a little dazed by what just happened, he ran to her wrapping his arms around her and burying his face deep into her neck.

The relief Oliver felt that moment was equal only to the moment when he had Connor back.

He wasted no time hoisting her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style toward the waiting ambulance that had just pulled up on the estate driveway.

In the meantime the team leaders of Alpha, Bravo and Charlie teams had all radioed in their status, all reporting that the mysterious Slade Wilson was not among those capture or deceased. At this news, Lance and John stared at one another knowing exactly what that meant. The danger was still far from over.

If Slade had gone through all the trouble to keep Felicity in his fold, then she remained of great value to him. On top of that, Slade didn't seem like the kind of man who would take this offensive sitting down. No, while they had Felicity back, they were very much aware that they had also poked the wrath of a madman whose potential to raise havoc was unprecedented in the City.

But while both Lance and John had this as top of mind, Oliver's only thought was for the woman who was now being checked on by the EMTs. So far they have declared her relatively unharmed, except for minor bruises that were probably a result of Slade's manhandling of her.

While the EMTs continued to do their jobs, Oliver never let go of her hand. Not now that he had her back. He was never going to let go, never.


	10. Wildest Dreams

AUTHOR'S NOTE: And here is the chapter some of your have been waiting for...and yes I'm talking to you dirty smutty minded nameless friends on twitter...may you be tickled pink by what is to follow, smutty much or is it?

If you bothered to read this and did not skip to start reading the story, I hope the explosive ending is executed the way I wanted it to be done.

As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:

Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)

Tumblr - everythinglollipop

Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies

Ao3 - lollipopdiaries

Wattpad - lollipopdiairies

Chapter 10 – Wildest Dreams

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He grabbed her face without a thought not even stopping before his lips touched hers, his tongue demanding to be let in.

Her lips tasted like no other he had kissed in his lifetime and he had kissed a lot. It was intoxicating, addicting, her lips tasted like ambrosia.

He kissed her for what felt like forever very much aware that she wasn't pulling away until air became an issue for them and only then did they part, both of them breathing hard, eyes still locked on each other.

In the next second, Felicity had him pinned against the wall and all Oliver could think about was that it was the hottest thing ever. He was paralyzed by what was happening, not wanting to kill the mood by doing something…anything.

After eyeing him for a second, she took the lead and he let her. Placing hot kisses on his neck, sucking and kneading….marking him as if to say he was hers. And he loved it. It was exactly what he needed.

In the next instant he reversed their positions, pushing her against the opposite wall, causing some glass to shatter somewhere something his mind registered but couldn't care less about. Neither did she apparently.

Instead, she pushed his jacket off him almost tearing it in her eagerness to rid him of it. He reciprocated by placing both his hands on her hips finally locating the edge of her shirt lifting it not so gently from her body.

With Felicity just in her bra, Oliver took a few seconds to marvel at her porcelain skin. As if they had a mind of their own, his hands cupped her breasts gently, squeezing them lightly making a moan escape her unconsciously.

"Oliver, please."

And that was all it took, a quiet plea of want from Felicity for him to move them from the wall to the bed.

Clothes flew everywhere, if you ask him later he wouldn't be able to recall anything except the unparalleled feeling of them being skin to skin, his sweat and hers mingling together in symphony.

Her heavy breathing against his ear was driving him insane!

He couldn't get enough of her. Her scent, combined with her very wet pussy as he pumped two fingers in and out before he added a third that had her scream out his name in ecstasy had him unbridled with passion. God, he loved that he was the reason she was so ensconced in the heat of desire.

Their hooded eyes met again before they shared another heated kiss.

Suddenly she was on top. Her fingertips trailing down his chest before it stopped at the tip of his cock making it twitch uncontrollably.

"God Felicity, you're driving me crazy. "

And just like that she grabbed his cock making him grunt at the suddenness of her action.

She leaned down, her hair touching his thighs making him shiver in anticipation of what was about to happen. Was she really going to do this?

"Felicity!"

He screamed her name as her tongue finally made contact with the tip of his cock making even harder, if that was even possible.

Resting his upper body weight on his elbows he looked down at the vision of what she was doing, not being able to look away even if he wanted to. As if she knew, she shifted so that she could look at him from underneath her eyelashes. Making his eyes darken even more with desire.

Without breaking eye contact, Felicity opened her mouth further and took him in as slowly as she could. The anticipation of being fully inside her mouth was killing him. Their was no mistaking it, he had countless encounters of being deep throated, but this was a totally new experience for him. The highs he was going through, making him clench at the sheets as she continued to slide in and out making him even more slicker and sliver with unprecedented want.

He spread his knees further apart to accommodate her entire body between him.

His hips lifted as his cock first finally made contact with the back of her throat.

"Fuck Felicity!"

He grabbed fistfuls of her hair, gritting his teeth knowing he was almost at the edge.

Not wanting to finish this way, at least not their first time together he torturously pulled out and in one sweeping move that even surprised him, he had her on her back and just stared at her for a few seconds, the wonder of it all getting to him.

This woman was making love to him the way he wanted to make love to her.

"Oliver….I need you," Felicity said almost whispering in desperation.

And I need you too. I love you. He said silently to himself. Now was not the time for those all important words. Instead he gave her what she wanted.

He leaned to capture her lips, this time setting a slow pace, like he had all the time in the world to show her how much he loved her. Giving careful attention to peppering her face with little kisses, her eyes, nose, licking her ears before he gave her lips devotion. Focusing first on her lower lip running is tongue against it before he encapsulated it between his teeth.

Though he wanted more time, Felicity and her alternate moaning and pleading for him to give her what she ultimately needed had him finally giving in to her.

He slid between her knees, spreading her legs wider until she was fully opened up for him. He then positioned himself at his opening, making sure that the tip of his cock grazed her clit as he lined his erection without looking away from her.

The tip of his cock entered her folds slowly making them both moan out loud once again as every inch of him pushed into her tight heat.

"Open your eyes Felicity. " Oliver's hands were on her cheeks gently stroking them as he took a few seconds pause, the sensation of being deep inside her engulfing him.

She bit her lip and gave him one of her smiles making his cock jerk. God, he loved this woman!

"Move Oliver!"

Her demand broke through his haze, wanting to do nothing but please his woman he did as he was told.

He pulled out then thrust back inside of her slowly at first until his desperation for friction made him quicken his pace.

He watched her as she watch him, both of them consumed by the ache for one another. She whimpered his name as he started to chant her name with reverence, watching the play of emotions of her face.

She locked her arms around his back biting at lower lip again to prevent herself screaming is name out loud like she never had the desire to do so for anyone else.

"Fast, go faster."

She didn't have to beg, he was going faster than he had ever had. Lifting her legs up so her ankles would lock over his shoulders so he was now hovering above her.

This new angle was even more pleasurable.

"Oh God Oliver!"

He generally disliked talking during sex, preferring to get the act over and done with. This experience was new to him. And Felicity just uninhibitedly screaming his name made his ego boost. He loved that he was the one making her feel this way and he would be damned if after today, anyone else would get that opportunity to make love to her other than him. She was his as much as he had always hers.

Realization dawned on him. That's why it was so easy for him to fall for her even under the dire circumstances he had. His heart, his soul and now his body had recognized her as his one, even before his mind had caught up.

The slapping of sweating wet skin and the smell of sex in the air was drawing out his orgasm sooner than he expected.

"Felicity," her purred her name, his hand inserting between them to stroke her clit.

"I'm close, so close."

"Let go baby. " He buried his head between the hollow of her neck and cheek and started to suck so hard he was sure he had marked her just as he had been marked.

Her groans and moans became louder, mixed with her saying his name. Then he knew she was about to come when her legs tensed and her nails dug into his skin.

"That's it baby. I love you."

A moment before she came, she sucked in a breath. Her breath release timed perfectly as her walls spasm around his cock, her fluids surrounding his erection. The erotic sensation of it all was what finally did him in as he finally reached a nirvana state of orgasm like he never had before making it almost impossible for him to breathe in the aftermath of his euphoric climax.

Felicity saying his name repeatedly was the best sound he could ever be hearing. He was in the middle of the throes of passion, consumed by a mind-blowing orgasm that he knew had him moaning and groaning like he never had before.

"Oliver…Oliver!" Felicity said his name two maybe three times before Oliver abruptly woke up.

He had to blink several times before he realized what was happening. It was all a dream. It wasn't real.

He was actually perched on a the couch, legs up, apparently asleep dreaming a very wet dream while Felicity was in the bed. And she was looking at him funny, oh god she heard him moan.

Did he moan her name out loud like he was in the middle of an…..nope, he wasn't going to finish that thought. Talk about awkward silence.

He stalled for a few seconds, choosing to take his time pretending he was a slow riser going through his morning wake up ritual so he had some time to center himself before he faced her.

For her part, Felicity sat up slowly, her back now leaning against the headboard eying Oliver with caution.

She knew that Oliver was having some kind of dream, she hoped it wasn't a nightmare that involved her and her being captured because one of them having nightmares was more than enough.

He cleared his throat before saying, "how are you feeling?" Avoidance that was what he was going for.

Felicity sighed heavily, "like I've just been kidnapped, dragged, slightly tortured and threatened by someone who I still believe is not quite human."

Her honest summation of her situation had him walking toward her instantly, his erotic dream quickly a thing of the past.

"You're safe now, you know that right?" Oliver reminded her as he sat down beside her on his bed.

Felicity automatically nodded accepting his statement, "I know."

"Do you, really?" Doubt still lingered in his mind.

"Yes."

Her simple and straight to the point answer had his heart soaring.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had been very late at night, or early morning really if anyone was being technical about it. After the EMTs had declared her generally unharmed except for minor bruises that was to heal with time, he had whisked her to the Mansion and straight inside his bedroom, right on his bed.

He knew she was too tired to care where he was taking her. The moan of pleasure that escaped her as her body touched the soft mattress made him want to just lay down beside her and hold her in his arms immediately but knew he was already pushing some boundaries just by bringing her here. But for the life of him, he couldn't imagine her being anywhere else but right there. In his home, in his bedroom, on his bed hoping that the 'his' would eventually become 'theirs' in the very near future.

Without a thought, his hands went to her feet gently removing her shoes one at a time. His hands travelled up her legs lingering on her jean covered thighs before he asked her if she wanted a change of clothes.

At her slow nod he first proceeded to his en-suite grabbing a washcloth dipping it in warm water, he then continued to his walk-in closet to grab one of his shirts. The desire to see her in what was his on his mind despite the delicacy of the situation.

As he walked back to his main bedroom he found her appraising her surroundings, her expression unreadable.

He approached her cautiously startling her as she finally spotted him in her peripheral.

"May I?" he knew she had just gone through a traumatic experience and he wanted her to know that she was in safe hands as he asked her warily.

Felicity gave him a small smile. That was all she could manage for the moment. Her mind and body finally relaxed after the last few days of tension making her fully fatigued, her eyes already partially shutting but she wanted to at least be in more comfortable attire, never mind the hot shower her body craved.

Oliver has successfully tempered his yearn for her as he helped her prepare for bed. This was not how he had wanted to first see her half-naked so near him but his care and love for her made his desire to tend to her take precedence over everything else, gently using the wash cloths to clean her face then her arms before he helped her out of her pants and blouse and into his loose shirt.

The fact that for a few seconds she was decked in just her underwear set had him swallowing hard, never had he seen such beauty, before he completed the task of helping her dress.

"Are you sure this is fine?"

Confused for a moment thinking she was talking about the borrowed shirt he just waved it off before she clarified.

"I mean, this is your room and I'm in your bed, Oliver Queen's bed. Something I didn't think would ever happen, not even in my wildest dreams and oh God! Please ignore everything you just heard and chalk it up to a case of delirium because while I sometimes talk in sentence fragments, I usually am able to keep quiet dreams like that to myself. Not that, I have dreams about you….at least not a lot…"

Felicity was aware that she was digging herself an even dipper hole with her mouth running away from her making her blush and looked away from Oliver not seeing that the man she had prattled about was finding it very hard to hid a building rage on with what she had just inadvertently disclosed.

She had dreams about him too, and not just the tame ones. God he was so screwed!

Thankfully he was able to recover footing for both of them by stirring them to safer topics like….

"I don't mind you in my room, sleeping on my bed. In fact, I welcome it."

Ok, that didn't make things less awkward, in fact it increased the level of awkwardness and coated it with a dash of creepy. The lengthy pause that followed had him trying to gather his wits about. Realizing this wasn't exactly his winning moment he chose to gather her discarded clothes. Bringing them back to his walk-in closet was his way of giving both of them time to recover.

Oliver Queen was never awkward or discomfited, but there was always a first time. The right girl would do that to any guy, no matter how worldly he was.

When he padded back to his bedroom already dressed down in lounge pants and a t-shirt for her benefit since he usually slept in his boxer-briefs or naked, whichever he felt, she was already asleep. If he didn't lean over to double check, he would have missed the slight snoring sound she made. She was rightfully exhausted after everything.

Oliver looked around his room now unsure of what his next move should be.

On one hand, he could lay down beside her, the bed was definitely big enough for them not to even touched, it was a King size bed after all. Not that he wanted to avoid her touch, it was the opposite of avoid that he craved.

Then again, the better option should be the couch in his room. It was more than comfortable. He himself had fallen asleep their watching some TV or lingering over some office files from time to time.

He definitely need to be able to be within a certain distance from her that was for sure, so yeah, the couch it was. He didn't want her further traumatized by finding him in bed with her, redirecting her stress toward him although it was unlikely.

Sleep was pulling him, knowing that he had to give in to it since tomorrow was going to be another big day.

Slade was still out there somewhere.

Oliver turned to his side, watching her from a distance although she was a mere shadow given the state of darkness of the room. He was still comforted by the fact that she was there, safe. Finally succumbing to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I was afraid, so scared. I promised to keep you safe, but I failed to do that," Oliver confessed as he sat on the side of the bed, his face a picture of defeat.

Felicity placed her hand on top of his, a gesture of comfort.

"You did one better. You kept Emily safe. That's what I asked."

Oliver shook his head, "my vow was to protect both you and Emily. I only half succeeded and that was after what happened. I should never have agreed to you leaving here."

"That was not your decision to make Oliver."

"Maybe," Oliver conceded after a long moment, "but I should have tried to convince you to stay harder. Had more security focused on ensuring you were safe. If I had done that, none of this would have happened."

"Oliver….." Felicity started to say before the door to Oliver's room burst open loudly and in ran Connor and Emily, hand in hand.

"Mommy!" Emily then jumped up into the bed between Felicity who was still partially lying down and Oliver who was seated.

Felicity immediately wrapped her arms around her daughter embracing her like she wouldn't ever let her go.

Both Felicity and Oliver had check on Emily when they arrived at the Mansion and lingered for a few minutes just watching the little girl sleep. Both of them getting some semblance of relief at just seeing her so peacefully lost in her sleep.

They both then sneaked a peek into Connor's room before he guided her inside his room knowing she was fully exhausted.

"Baby, I think you've grown." Emily rolled her eyes at her Mom knowing that she was deliberately being teased but letting it pass since she missed her Mom and was almost ready to cry with relief finally seeing her.

"Mom, my birthday isn't until three months," proudly lifting three fingers to show she knew how to count with her fingers.

Felicity hugged her daughter tightly again, just breathing her in before Connor interrupted, "my birthday is next week. I'll be eight then. And I'm having a birthday party. " Connor's enthusiasm clouded, "I was going to tell Grandma to cancel it, I didn't want to have my party if you weren't here," Connor shyly reached out and touched Felicity's right arm. He was on the other side of the bed.

Felicity bit her lip, overcome with emotion at Connor's declaration before she looked at Oliver whose gaze was locked on his son.

Wanting to lift the mood, Felicity pulled the little boy to her side before she said, "well, I'm here now and both Emily and I are looking forward to your party. I'm sure it's going to be the best one."

Connor embraced Felicity, his little arms barely surrounding her torso, "it will be…..now that you're here. My whole family is complete."

Oh dear, that brought tears to the eyes of both Felicity and Oliver. Kids just knew how to get straight to the point in a way that adults somehow couldn't.

"Come here, group hug everyone." Bringing both the kids under the covers.

Oliver held out, thinking he was excluding from the hugs and kisses before Felicity pulled at his arm beyond Emily, "that includes you Oliver."

The smile that grazed Oliver's face after her statement rivaled the mega-watt lights of the expensive chandelier hanging at the foyer of the Queen Mansion. Talk about being wiped.

Oliver and Felicity, with Emily between them and Connor on Felicity's other side were engaged in a world-class ticklefest that they failed to hear the knocking on the door and just realized they weren't alone anymore when they heard a loud squeal.

Thea.

And his Mom and Dad.

This wasn't the first time they all gathered in his room, but at some point Oliver would need some privacy, when that time came.

He gave Felicity a smile he reversed just for her. He felt so happy at that moment. Everyone he loved was there.

It all about family, the Queens and wishfully his own future family. He pulled Emily onto his lap and scooted closer to Felicity his arms around her reaching his son on her other side.

Yep, no doubt about that, this embrace was better than the one without her a couple of nights ago.

Apparently his parents and sister agreed to as they almost preened at the cuddling that was going on in the bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Oliver, Felicity and all the others including John, Barry, Cisco and Detective Lance where gathered downstairs in one of the larger receiving rooms that had windows overlooking the gardens that gave them a view of Connor and Emily playing happily outside.

Connor leading the charge with Emily not far away, one hand still clutching the doll that her Aunt Thea had given her, it had now become her favorite one.

Everyone had just finished giving the Detective their statement and the Detective was finally satisfied with the answers he was getting even if they opened up more question and exponentially increased his white hairs.

Slade Wilson was a first-rate international terrorist who had escaped more prestigious law enforcement agencies in the past. Compared to them, SCPD wasn't anywhere near their realm of resources and expertise.

Slade being in Starling City was potentially the biggest catastrophe that was waiting to explode. Felicity Smoak and her abduction was only the tip of the iceberg as far as he was concerned.

They all stood up, shaking hands and giving each other tight smiles the gravity of the situation still lingered in the air when Felicity's phone rang.

She absent-mindedly answered it without a thought even if at first glance the number was an unknown. She was usually more cautious than that.

The voice that she heard on the phone made her shiver, blood draining from her face.

Oliver immediately was by her side, knowing something was wrong the second her facial expression changed.

"No! Please no!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing. Everything was suddenly quiet as everyone turned to Felicity who was at that point already in tears.

"I warned you Ms. Smoak of the consequences. This would teach you I wasn't bluffing when I said your daughter will pay if you dare go against me," the accented voice slowly and steadily said to her as if he wasn't threating the life of a child.

All of a sudden Felicity broke-out into a run, closely followed by Oliver who was highly attuned to his girl by now. The others followed confused after them.

Felicity distractedly grabbed Oliver's hand, "Emily." Felicity only had to say her daughters name and immediately Oliver ran ahead of her. From what little he had pieced together, it sounded like Slade Wilson had just threatened to off Felicity's daughter right at that very moment.

"Please don't do this?" He could still hear Felicity pleading with Slade making any and all promises she could to ensure he would spare her daughter.

Oliver was at his wits end, grabbing his hair in frustration. This couldn't be happening. Not now.

Felicity had gone down on her knees sobbing uncontrollably on the grass while b his Mom and his sister attempted to comfort her as he continued to look around wildly.

"Please No. Please, I beg of you."

Felicity's voice had gone up several notches, as she continued to beg the man.

"I'll do anything. I'll meet you right now. Where, tell me where!"

Felicity dropped her phone on the grass triggering the speaker voice function as they now all heard the voice counting down.

"Seven."

"Six. Say goodbye Ms. Smoak."

Oliver looked at the children, what should not be part of the picture.

"Five. Give her one last embrace."

At the tone of Slade's voice the only option he could think about was, bomb.

"Four. This is your fault you know."

Apparently John agreed as he was by Oliver side and simply said, "bomb."

Oliver spotted the doll, could it be? The doll was recent. It had come a few days before Slade had made his appearance. It was the only thing that was not part of the picture. A bomb could be placed inside the doll, the constant companion of the little girl during the last few weeks.

"Three…."

Without even thinking, Oliver strode toward Emily with speed he knew he needed, it was a matter literally of a few seconds grabbing the doll from the little girls' unsuspecting arm and throwing it up in the air and away from her.

"Two."

"One. Bye bye time."

While in the air, the doll exploded. Sending showers down to them. Oliver had pulled Emily beneath him while John had grabbed Connor.

Everyone else was frozen in place.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
How's that for a cliffy.


	11. The Waiting Game

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thank you to all who have followed this story from the start. And to all the new readers, I hope you stick around as the story progresses.**

**A new character will be introduced in this chapter. If you love this character in the TV show, please don't hate me for writing her in this way, it's just the way the story goes.**

**Again, I write ahead so I know better days are coming although darkness still surround our uncouple, or are they are couple? Read and let me know what you think.**

**As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:**

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* * *

 

**Chapter 11 – The Waiting Game**

Felicity was seated on the bed, her back to the headboard, feet up as she repeatedly stroked the cheek of her daughter Emily who she had almost lost just a few hours ago.

Both Emily and Connor were asleep under the covers on Oliver's kingsize bed. This was the room the children now considered their safe haven. Both children tried to stay awake longer until they had succumbed to sleep assured that Felicity was beside them.

While Felicity continued her unconscious action of stroking her daughter's cheek, she willed herself to think about something else, anything else but that unpleasant memory of what those last few seconds with Slade counting down the numbers felt like.

It was a scary thought that a man could be that evil. No remorse whatsoever for attempting to kill an innocent child had he succeeded. This man was still out there somewhere. He would still have several opportunities in the future to use her daughter or anyone else who mattered to Felicity as bargaining chip.

Her thoughts were jumbled, no matter how hard she tried to think of something else her thought swirled back to Slade until she felt more than heard the presence of another.

"You should be asleep too."

Felicity gave the person leaning casually on the doorframe a brief glance before she looked back at the children.

"I couldn't even if I wanted too. My brain is on overdrive. I keep thinking back to those last few seconds, I can't."

Oliver was by her side immediately, holding out one of his hands to touch the palm resting on top of the bed, "the children are safe. Emily is safe."

"For now," Felicity said quietly.

"Felicity, I swear to you…"

Felicity looked pointedly at Oliver, interrupted him, "it's not just Emily now who he could use. Connor, Barry, Cisco, any one of your family, you! There are so many people he could choose from, hell he could even use my mother whom I haven't seen in the last five years, or someone else I haven't thought about."

Oliver turned her palm over and entwined their hand, "both Emily and Connor are safe. They will remain inside the Mansion until this is over, and I swear to you this will be over one way or another. I won't let anyone let us live this way, under the gun. And as of Barry and Cisco, they are both staying over at the guest wing. These days my sister would rather stay-in, something I would not like to think about right now since I have a strong suspicion it has to do with Barry. My parents know exactly what to do and John has already left earlier using the company jet to bring your mother here. I'm sorry I didn't consult you about that but as soon as Barry shared that information, I had John leave."

Felicity looked past Oliver before she started, "my mother and I, we're not really close but she's still my mother and I'd hate for her to be a victim in all this. I would have preferred you consulted me before you sent John on the errand but," shrugging her shoulders, "I think the conclusion would still have been the same. I would have wanted her out of immediate danger and safe. If safe is right here at the Mansion, under the same roof as me, then I'll take it. She's never seen Emily you know."

"Felicity," squeezing her palm for a second before he continued, "I'm sorry."

Felicity looked at Oliver frowning not sure what he was apologizing for.

"Ever since you met me, your life has been in constant danger. It's my fault."

Felicity looked at Oliver as if she couldn't believe what he just said almost pushing his hand away angrily as she stood up to hug herself, her back to him as she faced the window to the garden.

"Sometimes you're just so pigheaded. You do realize that had I not been there, at that exact time and place, there was a chance that Connor wouldn't have made it back in one piece. And since when has Slade been your fault," Felicity turned around whispering angrily at him trying very hard to control her now rising anger at the same time not wake the kids, "as far as I know Slade has nothing to do with you and everything to do with me and what I can do. Not everything is about you Oliver!" Felicity finished turning her back on him again and opting to look out the window.

Oliver sighed deeply, walking toward her and stopping barely an inch behind her back tentatively lifting a hand to her shoulder, "you're right."

"I'm always right, at least more usual than you," Felicity muttered.

Oliver gave a hard laugh, "I don't know how you do it. Despite everything that has happened you still find a way for some normalcy. Like earlier, the moment the kids saw you they both calmed down. You have that natural ability to keep calm despite the chaos around you. Felicity, you're remarkable!"

Felicity finally turned around and faced Oliver, her cheeky smile finally making an appearance, "thank you for remarking on it." Her smile faded as soon as her eyes spotted the bandage around Oliver's left bicep.

Seeing where Felicity's eyes were now focused, Oliver tried to make light of it, "it doesn't even hurt anymore. Just a piece of debris from the bomb that according to SCPD wasn't even of the high grade type, meant only to do harm to a very local environment."

"Emily," Felicity provided the answer stoically.

"Felicity, Emily is fine largely due to you alerting all of us to the situation."

"No Oliver. Emily is unhurt mostly due to you and your heroics. How you even thought that it was the doll I would never have guessed. Don't sell yourself short Oliver. Sometimes you are the hero in a story. "

Felicity stepped away from Oliver, "can you believe that, you saved my daughter from death and I in turn did the same for Connor. If this were better circumstances it would almost seem like the fates are pushing us together. And yes there is some weirdness between us that I do not want to address at the moment. Suffice to say I feel safe when I'm around you, both Emily and I are drawn to this," gesturing between them, "to you. But now is not the time for deep conversations and heart to heart confessions."

"I'm aware and I agree. Just know that you always have me, Felicity. I won't push the point right now. I'm just happy that both you and Emily are here."

Felicity looked down at her attire and grimaced, "yeah well, not to act like a girl all of a sudden but, I will have to go out to a mall or something for some clothes, definitely not wearing anything Slade may have touched and somehow I don't think your sister would appreciate my borrowing her clothes for the rest of my stay here."

Oliver scoffed, the discussion with his sister and the SCPD earlier downstairs on his mind as remembered Thea recounting were the doll had actually come from. Emily had taking a liking to a doll that was being sold right outside their school by a roving van of children's toys. Thea said that the owner of the rolling van had produced a still boxed version of the doll, the same doll that Emily had been carrying around with her every since.

The detective had dispatched a team to check out the surveillance from the day Thea had said they bought the doll. But that was a shot in the dark. It had been weeks. Even before Felicity had been abducted. That meant that Slade had planned this out longer than any of them had anticipated.

This madman had been monitoring Felicity and the people around her, her day-to-day routines for quite some time now. Maybe even before the kidnapping of his son which made his skin crawl.

He hadn't known Felicity then, they hadn't met yet. Things would have been a lot different if that had been the case. She would probably be at Slade's mercy still and he wouldn't have known because they would never have met.

It was hard for him to fathom that the kidnapping of his son was the one thing that change everything for him, for them and for Slade Wilson.

Felicity was right. It was in their fate to meet. Everything happened to bring them to this point. All that was left now was to play the waiting game with Slade Wilson. It was them and the SCPD against the endless resources of Slade Wilson.

"Oliver!"

Oliver was lost in his thoughts and again Felicity had to say his name twice.

"Oh right, clothes. Actually…..," Oliver rubbed his neck and looked at her sheepishly.

"What did you do?" Felicity's eyes narrowed.

"Nothing bad," Oliver said defensively. "It wasn't even really me, at least not totally. My Mom's and my sister's personal shopper….."

"Personal what?" Felicity asked confused.

"Personal shopper, you know a person whose job is to shop for another person, usually for specific types of clothes and accessories," Oliver explained.

"Go on," Felicity gestured for Oliver to continue although she had an idea by now where this was heading and not liking it.

"Well, Thea called her personal shopper and asked her to put together a small, and I do emphasize small, collection of clothes, the usual dresses, jeans, shirts, sleepwear even some you know…" Oliver was suddenly feeling a little bit awkward and couldn't exactly mouth underwear.

"And now I have a whole selection of wardrobe, is that what you're saying? The works, including bags and shoes?"

Oliver nodded slowly unsure if indeed they included the bags and shoes but knowing his sister and her shopping, it was almost a no brainer.

"And the wardrobe is currently?" Felicity asked him again.

"In the other room, the room you use, your room."

Felicity lifted a finger and started to point it at Oliver, she started and stopped to say something twice before she sighed and settled for, "this is the last time I'm letting you get away with grand gestures like this," her finger poking his chest as she scolded him sternly with Oliver just nodding.

All of a sudden, Felicity folded the hand that contained her poking finger and punched Oliver lightly on the chest, "they better be in my style because I swear to god, even if they're designer and I have a strong suspicion that they are, if they don't scream Felicity I'm not wearing them."

"That threat is not scaring me a bit. If you don't want to wear them, you could always raid my closet or better yet, just walk around naked."

"And that isn't happening, at all." Felicity rolled her eyes at him but then looked at him from under her eyelashes, head to one side as she grabbed the uninjured arm, "thank you Oliver, I mean it. No one has really taken care of me, me and Emily like you have."

"You don't have to thank me Felicity. I want to do so much more for you if you'll let me."

Felicity stepped away from him, a little overwhelmed by intense Oliver again. "I told you, no heavy stuff."

"I know, I'm sorry I just can't help it."

* * *

 

Slade had all his men line up as he gave his now familiar speech. He always gave a big speech more because he just could, not that it was necessary. The men knew him well enough to know he did not tolerate mistakes.

His minions definitely did not understand half of what he was saying anyway, simpletons that they were. Only a handful of inner circle men understood Slade's grand plan, his inner trust circle. Most of them where scattered around the world doing his bidding, this was not the only 'project' he was undertaking at the moment. Around the world, various 'projects', even bigger than this one where happening.

He built a reputation in the underworld as an entrepreneur extraordinaire but during the recent years his delusions of graduating into a new world order leader was coming into fruition. His name was quickly becoming synonymous with new world terrorism.

He needed to be omnipresent hence his inner circle of men represented what he stood for worldwide.

Starling City however needed his special attention since there was more, much more than just the blueprints to a prototype weapon at stake. Starling City was ground zero to plans that had already been put in place several months back, years even. The City started the path of change for this man who was once a peace seeking man.

The City was going to be the setting for a demonstration. Once built, the prototype weapon was going to be used on Starling City. A display of what the weapon was capable of. The buyers would have a first hand view of what destruction this weapon was capable off. Unfortunate for the citizens of Starling who had no idea this was going to happen in a matter of weeks.

The one key that Slade missed was his IT expert. Sure he had a couple on hand, but none at the level that Ms. Smoak had been proficient at. He had three who he considered a par with Ms. Smoak but they were currently on 'assignments' for his other ongoing projects, pulling them out would mean delays in his other ongoing ones.

After yesterday, he was sure the stakes were raised as far as getting to Ms. Smoak was concerned. But, Slade still had time. The window was still very much open. So he would play the waiting game.

In the meantime, a demonstration was in order. Someone should be again made an example of the incompetence of what occurred at the Queen Mansion.

They had thwarted his intention to 'harm' the little girl, and yes the bomb wasn't meant to kill, it was meant to harm, cripple…but not kill, not yet. While arguably, it wasn't the fault of any of his men, sampling what Slade was capable of served as a reminder to his minions, as always.

He always had to keep his men on their toes.

Now, who would it be? Slade walked among his men, sizing them up one by one to see which one was the most dispensable. It was time to select a 'volunteer' for this demonstration.

Slade nodded to one of his trusted inner circle and gave him an almost undistinguishable signal. He had selected his 'volunteer'. The lucky man was being dragged by his trusted chief and pushed to kneel before him.

Slade smirked, his one good eye fixed on the man who was about to have his last breath in a few seconds. Power, to have it at the palm of ones hands….Slade gave another subtle nod and then the man kneeling down dropped to the floor, blood trickling down his neck.

* * *

 

Thea stood up from the dinning table as soon as she spotted her brother and Felicity making a beeline for it.

Oliver glared at his sister and she lowered her head, knowing that her brother was still not yet over her part in bringing that doll into the Queen household, endangering not only little Emily but everyone else inside the Mansion.

Knowing that Thea's action had everything to do with the man who was beside her, Felicity subtly held on to Oliver's waist and pinched him making him jump and look at Felicity with a raised eyebrow.

"It wasn't her fault," Felicity whispered to Oliver knowing he would understand what she was saying.

Oliver scoffed and shook his head, "of course it was. She brought the doll inside this house."

Felicity stopped walking and open-palmed spanked Oliver in the chest.

Shocked, Oliver stepped backward, "did you just…"

"Yes I did." Felicity answered him with a challenge, "it's not her fault."

"Yes it is," Thea interrupted in a small voice.

Felicity gave Oliver's sister a look, "no it's not. It could have been me who bought that doll, or even you Oliver if you had the chance, we both know Emily is hard to resist. No need to blame anyone, because next thing we'd be all thinking it's Emily's fault for wanting that doll."

"It's not Emily's fault, she's just a child." Oliver tried to out logic her thinking.

"And it's not your sister's fault either. It's nobody's fault except Slade. He's the one we should all be pointing fingers at. Can't you see that Oliver."

Oliver sighed and rubbed his face, "your right, as always," he told Felicity with an apologetic expression on his face.

"And," Felicity gave him a determined look, the one he couldn't resist so he turned to his sister.

"And, I'm sorry Thea. It's not your fault," Oliver told his sister sincerely.

Felicity placed her palm on Oliver's chest as she looked up at him, "that wasn't too hard was it."

Thea for her part nodded accepting her brother's apology even if she still felt it was partly her fault, at the same time she smiled at how whipped her brother was. Yes, Felicity was the first woman her brother had technically introduced to the family since….Thea thought back, never. Even Connor's mother had never been introduced to them, she was a one-night stand that turned into several one-night stands granted, but Oliver never really introduced her as someone he was in a relationship with so Felicity was a first for the Queens. And truth be told, Thea had a feeling, no she knew Felicity was going the be the last woman in her brothers' life if how her brother was wearing his feelings on his sleeve was an indication.

And Thea wasn't objecting at all. She already liked Felicity and loved Emily. And she knew it wouldn't take much effort on her part to love Felicity. Not when she could put her brother in his place that way. No, her brother needed a strong woman beside him and Felicity Smoak was the woman for her brother, without any doubt.

"Now Raisa has put together something for you to eat, we know both of you haven't eaten for hours. I suggest that's what you both do unless you want to hurt Raisa's feelings," Thea told them.

Oliver gently took Felicity's elbow as he guided her toward the table nodding to his sister as a silent thank you.

"Oh Thea, thank you by the way for the wardrobe," Felicity told her, a smile on her lips.

"No need to thank me. I'll take any excuse to shop and this one is even better because I'm doing it on my brothers dime." Thea said cheekily earning her a groan from her brother making her back away and just say, "I'll stay with the kids just in case they wake up. Take as much time as you like," Thea told both of them before she turned away.

* * *

 

Oliver and Felicity were waiting at the Queen Mansion foyer for Donna Smoak's arrival. John had already alerted them that they would be at the Mansion in ten minutes.

Felicity was burning a path on the thick rug. Obviously nervous at seeing her mother after so many years of being apart that after five minutes Oliver finally put his hand out to stall her.

"Felicity, stop."

Felicity just gave him one of her patented 'what the fuck' looks that usually made him take a step back but not this time, this time he placed his hands on her shoulders so that she would have no choice but to look at him.

"Felicity, look at me." He paused until she had her eyes locked with his, "tell me what's going on in your mind. Show me how to help you."

Felicity tried to normalize her breathing. Oliver's touch was helping her try to center herself. She rarely went into panic mode anymore but this was one time that she felt she was entitled to it. With everything that had happened to her in the last few weeks and now with she and her mother meeting face-to-face after so many years of her deliberately building a life away from everything that had been familiar to her.

"After five years, I'm facing my Mom again. I've tried so hard to block away," Felicity gestured with her right hand, "that old part of my life and build a new one for me and Emily."

Oliver frowned, still not understanding what Felicity's point was.

Felicity seeing Oliver's expression tried to make more sense, "when she found out I was pregnant while I was at MIT, she….more or less told me I was a disappointment to her. That she had so much high hopes for me because of who I was and what my future could be like after MIT. She didn't want me to end up like her, a pregnant barely out of her teens girl who had to scrape though life. Eventually, she found out that Emily's father had bailed on me and after that last confrontation, I never saw her again."

"I continued with my studies until a week before I gave birth. Barry was there for me and a few friends I had at MIT."

Oliver embraced Felicity tightly, finally understanding what she had gone through. How strong this woman really was. How dare Emily's father walk out on Felicity and his own child, but his loss was Oliver's gain and dammit, he wasn't going to mess what he had with Felicity. He was going to be everything Emily's father wasn't to the little girl and more than that, he was going to be the man who would never turn his back on Felicity.

He was getting to know his Felicity more and more and what layers she shared with him just made him fall for her more and more.

Now knowing what he knew about Felicity, he understood that it took a lot for Felicity to let the woman who turned her back on Felicity when she needed her the most back into her life and put the woman's safety before her own hurt.

He was an ass for putting Felicity in this situation where she had to deal with her mother on top of everything else.

"Are you sure that your mother being here is fine? I could make other arrangements for her and she would still be safe?" Oliver asked searching her eyes.

Felicity buried her head on Oliver's chest sighing deeply before she answered, "no it's fine. We have to face one another eventually, I guess now is a good time as any to do that."

He leaned down and kissed her hair, embracing her even more tightly as he heard the sound of a car approaching, "last chance, I could still make other arrangements for her."

Felicity sighed then straightened up, "no, it's going to be fine, awkward but fine. She is family after all, you yourself told me that's the most important thing," Felicity finished her eyes a little watery at the statement.

Oliver placed both his hands on her cheeks and couldn't help himself as he leaned in to give her the most tender kiss that only she could bring out in him. Despite it being tender coated with gooey sweetness it was equally passionate as Oliver and Felicity poured what was in their hearts in the kiss.

Both of them were lost in each other that it took John clearing his throat twice before Oliver realized someone had joined them at the foyer breaking away from Felicity slowly and giving Felicity a side glance noticing that she was turning red before he gave John his full attention.

John's one hand was still hanging on to the knob of the Mansion door as both the men exchange an unspoken conversation before John stepped aside and signaled for someone to enter.

For his part, Oliver pulled Felicity closer to him, his arm around her waist knowing that this was one moment were she would need him.

If Oliver had taken the time to think about what Felicity's mother, what his future mother-in-law would look like, which he didn't, he would never ever imagine that the woman who tentatively stepped inside his home was Felicity's mother.

The only thing the mother and daughter had in common was that they were both beautiful, of course Felicity way more than her mother but still for her age, the woman who silently took in Felicity had aged beautifully.

Everything else however, the way she dressed, the way she was made up, the way she carried herself, Oliver bit his cheek thinking how his mother would react to meeting Felicity's mother who was probably was her exact opposite.

He was confident however that whatever his parents impression may be of Felicity's mother, he knew they would still be welcoming her with open arms unless she made herself unwelcome by hurting either Felicity or Emily who both were very much a part of the Queen family.

Only because Felicity had remained frozen in place, Oliver moved forward holding out his hand to the older woman, "Hi, I'm Oliver Queen. Welcome to my home."

"Oh, of course." The woman moved forward holding out her hand to Oliver but kept on giving little glances back toward her daughter who still had not moved an inch.

Oliver realized it was up to him to make this a little less awkward stepped back and reached out a hand to Felicity who grasped at it immediately like a lifeline, her full being focused on Oliver.

"I don't think I can do this right now," Felicity whispered to Oliver who took one look at her giving him puppy eyes and he caved. He would do anything for his girl, even if technically she still wasn't his.

Instead of answering her, he leaned in to kiss her temple lingering a little before he turned back to the older woman who was observing the exchange with wide eyes.

"I'm really sorry Mrs. Smoak, but…"

Donna inhaled and tried a brave smile interrupting Oliver, "that's fine, it's not your fault. I was looking forward to seeing my baby after five years, but I guess that time apart wasn't enough to heal the wounds. Maybe my being here is not a good thing after all. Maybe it's best that I just…."

"No," Felicity's voice was finally heard, it was small and tentative but both Oliver and her Mom knew she was trying, "you should be here. I just need a little more time, I thought I was okay with this but apparently I'm not. I just need a few hours, maybe a few days." With that, Felicity walked away leaving everyone watching her progress until she had disappeared deep inside the Queen Mansion.

After a few more seconds Oliver turned back to the older woman, "I don't honestly know what to say in a situation like this but," Oliver scratched the back of his neck, "Felicity has already said that you should stay. I don't think disappointing her wish now is what you'd want to do."

Her instant nod at his statement was all he needed before he turned to John who was there the whole time witnessing the reunion. It only took a subtle nod between the men for John to take action, "Ms. Smoak, let me show you to your room. You're bags are probably there by now."

With an awkward wave to Oliver, Donna followed John's lead toward the staircase.

* * *

 

Oliver was walking up the steps to the second floor of the Mansion distracted. It had been an awkward dinner with just his parents and Felicity's mother and him. Thea had chosen to stay with the children and Oliver was now on his way to check on his son and Emily who both would be spending the night with her first before he made his way to his wing of the house.

Oliver then made his way to Felicity's bedroom but was surprised to find it empty. He tried the other two doors first in the wing, Connor's and the room Emily was using both were also empty.

Finally Oliver made a beeline for his room, it was the only one he hadn't checked.

"Missed you at dinner," Oliver said as he entered his room slowly, finally spotting Felicity.

"I told you I just couldn't, I thought I could…" Felicity said only to be stopped with a finger to her lips.

"You don't have to explain Felicity. You never have to justify yourself to me. There's still a lot of things I don't know about your life," Oliver sat down on the bed, his bed actually that had Felicity on it, "but anytime you need someone to talk to, to share anything about your past with, I hope I'd be that person you turn to."

Felicity bit her lip in an attempt to still the tears that were threatening to fall at Oliver's statement. No one had loved her as unconditionally as Oliver had. No one. Not her Dad who walked out on her at a very young age, not her good for nothing baby daddy. Not even her mother who had been the rock during her younger years. Oliver's love, and yes Felicity whole-heartedly believed that Oliver truly did love her unconditionally was rivaled only by her own daughter Emily.

She knew how Oliver felt and yet she was deliberately stalling, kept him hanging. Despite knowing that one thing that she herself knew was undeniable, that she herself had already fallen.

And all of a sudden her world tilted. She had an epiphany. Sometime in the last seven weeks that she had known Oliver, she had fallen in love with him. Granted, it wasn't probably as close to instantaneous as Oliver claimed he had fallen for her. But now that she had finally dealt with analyzing her feelings, she couldn't deny what was more than obvious to her.

With that thought in her mind, she sat up and pulled a now shocked Oliver by the neck forward before she pressed her lips to his.

Whatever had been the reason for Felicity to suddenly grab him, he had already told himself to go with it, let her take the lead. His lips and his body was hers hopefully to do wicked things to.

"Take this off," Felicity commanded him by poking a finger at his shirt.

Of course Oliver did as she said. When his woman told him to strip, he'd strip no questions asked.

But then she did something that took his breath away. She took her tank top off and he was frozen in time, she was perfect. Her upper body was totally naked and perfect.

What had just happened, why was this happening? Half of Oliver's brain was still overthinking the moment while the other half just couldn't resist what was in front of him, the later won.

Oliver brought his face closer to her until finally his lips were touching hers. His hands went to her hips pulling her under him completely before they slowly burned at path to cup her breasts.

As soon as Oliver had her breasts firmly in his hands Felicity let out a moan. Hearing her moan Oliver growled in return. He had never wanted anyone more than he wanted Felicity. His desire for her was pushing him to take her quickly because he had waited for this moment for far too long but he couldn't.

His desire to make slow love to her won out.

The next second Oliver's tongue was tracing her left breast as his hand gave her right one equal attention by pulling and pinching a nipple earning another moan, this time louder from Felicity.

Oliver suddenly pulled away from her and for a moment Felicity thought Oliver was having second thoughts about them but all her doubts faded away when she saw his eyes dilated with desire for her.

He brought his hands to her shorts his eyes never leaving hers as waited for a sign that she was okay with what he was about to do first before he actually continued to undress her. Her biting her lip in anticipation was all the encouragement he needed as he slowly slid her sleep shorts down her legs leaving Felicity totally naked.

"Your so beautiful." Oliver whispered as he took in everything about her. And indeed she felt like the most beautiful woman in the world at that second.

He spread her legs wider then she felt his fingers parting her folds before she screamed out his name when his tongue first swiped her slit, doing it repeatedly until she was a bundle of nerves.

Felicity's hands were suddenly pulling at what little hair Oliver had when he started to circle her clit with his tongue, sucking at it as if he had all the time in the world even quickening his pace when he felt Felicity start to shake, a sign that she was about to orgasm.

At the last second Oliver started to blow air from his mouth on to her clit, it was the one thing that finally pushed Felicity over the edge and Oliver was there to lick every bit of her juices away.

"Oliver, I need you inside me now." Felicity's voice was almost unrecognizable, her plea had Oliver riding himself of the rest of his clothes in record time.

Oliver positioned himself at her entrance, the tip of his hard length teasing her entrance a few times until she whispered her plea for him to be inside of her again.

But Oliver wanted her to be fully aware of what they were about to do, "are you sure?" He asked her making sure she was looking at him, "because after tonight, there's no going back. Not for me, and not for you. After tonight, there will only be us. I love you Felicity. I want us to be doing this for the right reasons."

Felicity lifted a hand to touch his cheek, caressing his rough stubble a few times before she leaned forward and kissed him for a few seconds before she leaned back again, "I'm doing this for the right reason. The reason being that I'm falling in love with you too."

At her declaration Oliver took action immediately, pushing inside of her slowly without breaking eye contact. He started to move at a steady pace. When usually he wanted hard and fast sex, with Felicity he wanted to savor making love to her so he went deliberately slow.

For Oliver, slow equaled intimate and he never wanted that much intimacy during sex. But what was happening with Felicity wasn't sex. They were making love. He was loving his woman, worshipping her the way she was meant to be worshiped.

Oliver continued to thrust inside of her, feeling pleasure tingle all over him.

"Oliver," Felicity breathily chanted his name as she met him thrust for thrust. All that was heard were moans and groans and the friction of wet skin slapping against one another for the next few minutes until the build of crescendo was too much for Felicity screaming out Oliver's name one last time before she came again.

Oliver was looking at Felicity with so much intensity as he continued to move inside of her building up another orgasm inside of Felicity again she swore she was going to pass out.

Oliver's hands were all over her body, as his own orgasm started to build up, he wanted his hands on her breasts squeezing them, then they travelled to her waist as he changed the her position slightly so he could go even deeper inside of her, then his hands where on her face demanding that she look at him and him alone as he his thrusting became erratic.

"Felicity, one last time. I need you to come for me one more time," Oliver told her and all of a sudden her walls pulsed around him, coating his manhood with her juices once more and it was all it took before he emptied himself inside of her, growling her name in the process.

Both of them were breathing hard in the aftermath of what was the most mind-blowing sex both of them had ever had.

Oliver was still inside of her as he leaned in and kissed her passionately before he leaned back sending her a loving smile, "Felicity Smoak, I love you. This," he pulled her hand to touch his chest over his heart, "is yours, for as long as you want it."

"I want it forever Oliver," Felicity whispered.

"Then you have it, forever. I am yours forever," Oliver told her as he slowly pulled out of her earning a groan from her at the loss of his warmth.

 

* * *

 

I swear, this time it wasn't a dream this time.

It hurts my soul to paint Mama Smoak the way a wrote her, but every story needs a sprinkle of angst here and there.


	12. Blood Ties

AUTHOR'S NOTE: And the next chapter is up. The title of the chapter should say it all. Blood Ties is about relationships, by choice or by circumstances. Felicity/Donna, Oliver/Felicity, and a surprise before the end of this chapter.

Much has been said about our villain, this chapter will give us the beginning of insight into the why he is the way he is and I couldn't help but leave you with something to ponder on before the end of the chapter as you can guess, this chapter sets up the character arc of Slade Wilson.

Since we are already midway into this story, dawn has already began, taking our couple out of the darkness and hopefully toward happier times ahead. 

I've been asked about the emotional development of my main characters just to be clear, my story is pegged on the premise that when a love is true it cannot be defined by conventional rules. It can be sudden, irrational, unexpected, it could catch the best of us all by surprise. When a soul recognizes a soul, it cannot be explained. It may not be rational to the reader, but such is fiction.

This is a very long chapter, almost twice my usual ones because I had to merge a chapter. It didn't make sense when I first drafted separate chapters when the arc's revealed are all intertwined and are best all addressed in this chapter. So I hope you are ready for the roller coaster ride this chapter will bring. Exciting times ahead.

As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:

Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)

Tumblr - everythinglollipop

Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies

Ao3 - lollipopdiaries

Wattpad - lollipopdiairies

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Chapter 12 – Blood Ties

Oliver woke up. He always was a quick riser. Once he opened his eyes he was usually off the bed doing push-ups or variations of that before he proceeded to the Mansion gym in the basement but not this morning.

He was experiencing a foreign feeling. One he had never felt before, contentment. Like he was perfectly fine to stay in bed the whole day.

As he sometimes does, he scrunched his nose in an effort to hold on to the drowsy feeling which allowed him to fall back to sleep. But midway into the action, his nose caught a scent, both familiar and peculiar.

Oliver was very particular with scents. He preferred his musky, woodsy ones. And since this was his room, it usually exuded him and only him. He had never brought a woman to the Queen Mansion. He hand never met someone worthy of that honor. But there was definitely something feminine in the air.

Oliver quickly opened his eyes when he realized what that scent was, it was the scent of her strawberry shampoo. Strands of Felicity's hair were loosely covering part of his face. And he loved it.

He had her wrapped around his arms, one bicep serving as her pillow, the other arm around her waist while she continued to be oblivious to his musings, sleeping the morning away.

Oliver was no perv, but he couldn't help himself as he leaned even closer and sniffed her hair. God, he would never get over how good this all felt, pulling her infinitesimally closer to his warmth earning a moan from her.

At her first movement Oliver froze, what if she regretted what had happened last night between them. What if it was just a knee-jerk reaction?

Oliver knew Felicity was awake, and she knew he was too but they both chose to stay quiet with their thoughts for a minute, maybe two.

Because Oliver was about to burst, he broke the impasse.

"Felicity, you're usually not this quiet. You like this is starting to scare me. Are you regretting…."

Felicity turned around to face Oliver, "no, never. Nothing is further from my mind. I told you last night I was all in, and I was, I am. This," leisurely traveling her finger across Oliver's chest, "is nice."

Oliver caught her wondering finger, "this is not nice." He told her with a straight face not giving anything away, confusing her into thinking it was Oliver who regretted last night as she started to pull away only to be trapped underneath him.

"Ah, ah, ah…where do you think you're going?" He leaned in to give her face butterfly kisses before he locked eyes with her, "this is not nice. Nice is such a mild word for what this is because this, this is everything. Waking up next to you with you in my arms. It's everything Felicity."

Oliver shifted, his lips tracing a path from her chin to her neck as his fingers played with the straps of her tank top. After going two rounds last night, both Felicity and Oliver had put on their clothes. Felicity her top and sleep shorts, Oliver his boxers both aware that the kids could burst into the room unannounced sometime in the morning.

A soft knock interrupted them making Oliver groan into Felicity's neck as he heard her giggle lightly.

The door slowly opened as Oliver rolled away from Felicity sighing but his sour mood quickly morphed into a smile one as he started to listen to the whispered words between the kids who had still to step into the room despite the now open door.

"Mommy was probably afraid, that's why she's still sleeping in Uncle Ollie's room," was the quiet whisper of Emily to Connor.

"Remember what Aunt Thea said, if they're still asleep, not to wake them."

"Yes Con, you said that already. Even though I miss Mommy and her bear hugs I'll wait 'til she wakes up."

Oliver who had been quietly listening to the conversation gave Felicity a quick glance as she tried to stifle another giggle. She too had been listening to the back and forth of the kids.

"Dad should be up by now, he's usually up at dawn unless, ewww…." Oliver heard the revulsion in his son's voice as he realized something, "Em, maybe we shouldn't…"

And that was when both Oliver and Felicity realized what was in Connor's mind. He thought they were in the middle of sex, yes little boys had vivid imaginations but this was close to what they would have walked into if it had been a few minutes later. At the direction the conversation was taking, Felicity decided it was time to inform the kids that they were awake.

"Em, Con, I can hear both of you out there!" Felicity hollered. "Come on in."

"Mommy's awake!" Emily screamed then squealed as she ran the rest of the way inside the room and jumped into the bed impatiently that Oliver just had enough time to move away to give her space in between.

Connor for his part walked into the room a little more cautiously his eyes alternating between his father and Felicity as if trying to read something.

Catching his son's curiosity, but still unsure how to communicate the change in the relationship between Felicity and him from friends to, should he be so ambitious and use the word girlfriend already when talking about Felicity? But knowing just how perceptive his son was, he wanted to tell him the truth but truth be told, Felicity and he hadn't yet talked about what to say to the kids and their families about them dating, was it even called dating even if they technically only had one official date and that was in the gardens of the Queen Mansion.

That was one thing that Oliver was regretting because of their current predicament. More than with anyone, he wanted those date nights with Felicity. The movie date night in an actual movie house, dinner with her in the finest restaurants, to be able to show her off as his girl in official QC and Starling City functions, all these and more.

But more than that, he wanted to know every little thing about her. Every facet of her life, every little tick she had, ever gesture, every expression, everything that made Felicity, well…Felicity.

There was more than one way to do that. Dating was a more traditional approach nowadays.

Maybe when this Slade business was over or when things have at least quieted down this would be possible, but since that wasn't currently possible he would find other ways.

Granted they were doing things in reverse. They became a couple brought together by circumstances barely knowing anything about one another but really, the things that really mattered, things that one usually gets to know about the other person after date number twenty, were commitment and trust was built, they had jumped ahead to that.

Connor had finally reached his side after dragging his feet but did not attempt to get on the bed, just patiently standing on his father's side of the bed eyeing Felicity and Emily who were in the middle of another gigglefest.

"Hey Con, something bothering you?" Oliver asked his son pointblank.

"Maybe," was his son's vague answer.

"You want to talk about it?"

Connor looked at his father for a second making eye contact before he looked away shyly, "maybe."

Oliver looked back at Felicity who now had her attention divided between her daughter and what was a conversation she was overhearing between the father and son, intercepting his quiet inquiry about how to handle his son's inquiry.

"I think the four of us need to talk about something, why don't we have breakfast together," she said addressing both the children before she turned to Oliver, "Oliver would it be possible to set up breakfast at your balcony, I think we all would love a little fresh air."

Oliver nodded at Felicity's request. He got out of bed to do as he was instructed while his son eager took his place on the bed.

A shower and change of clothes later, Oliver walked out of his large walk-in closet and into the picture perfect scene of Felicity and the kids having breakfast in the wing balcony with Felicity gesturing for him to make his way to an empty seat in front of her.

Oliver exhaled and paused for a moment before he walked forward, he wanted this for the rest of the mornings of his life. And he'll be damned if he let someone like Slade take away all this from him.

Because it was innate to him now, as soon as he reached Felicity he leaned down and pecked her on the lips freezing when he realized what he just did in front of the children. Expecting to see reproach and equal shock in Felicity's expression when he finally leaned back, he was surprised to see her giving him a cheeky smile.

"I knew it!" was Connor's reaction to what he had just seen.

But it was Emily's innocent question that made everyone pause, "are you going to be my Daddy now?"

Oliver looked at Felicity, waiting for a sign on how they would proceed because as innocent as the question was it was also equally loaded. If Oliver had his way he would have immediately answered in the positive but he had the remind himself that he needed Felicity to take the lead on this one. They were a couple now and this was one of those moments when a woman's touch was needed.

Felicity gestured again for Oliver to sit down on the remaining empty chair across her first before she reached out at caught the hand of each child.

"Connor, your Dad and I, we realized that we liked one another," Felicity started to explain in a way that she knew the children would be able to grasp. "as more than just friends," Felicity was speaking slowly for the benefit of the children but she was making eye contact with Oliver while still holding the hand of each child as she continued, "and we wanted to see where this goes but," turning to Connor first, "only if it's okay with you," then she turned to face her daughter, "and you."

It was a wonder Connor was only six going seven with the intensity of the gaze he set on his father, "do you love her? I mean, I ask because if you love her then you won't hurt her. She saved me but more than that she's the closest to a Mom I've had ever since. I don't want to loose her because you don't love her enough and you're going to screw this up then I'll loose both her and Em."

Oliver grabbed his son's free hand and squeezed it, giving his son his full attention. At that moment he was proud of his son and how he was ready to defend Felicity even if the person he would have to go against to protect Felicity was his own father.

"Con, I do love Felicity. She knows that," taking his gaze away for a second from his son to Felicity and he couldn't help but smile as he went on, "and I will never hurt her. At least I will try my best to never knowingly hurt her. I need to know you're fine with this, that I have your approval, son."

Connor gave the two adults calculating looks then smiled at Emily who was seated in front of him, "cool Dad, I'm cool with this. This is the best birthday gift ever!" In one motion Connor stood up and embraced his Dad then hugged Felicity tightly then pulled her down so he could whisper, "I mean what I said, if he hurts you he'll have to answer to me."

While Felicity and Connor where laughing over their private joke, Emily finally spoke up to get back to her question earlier, "so can I call Uncle Ollie Dad now?" Emily still wouldn't let go of her point.

Connor scratched his head as he looked sheepishly at his Dad and Felicity while he went back to sit down, "yeah she's actually been buggin' me and Aunt Thea about that for a few days now."

Oliver sighed heavily as Felicity looked at him pointedly as if to say it was his turn to thresh this out, since she took that lead when it came to talking to his son. But since he knew this was a heavier topic, she gave him a small smile of encouragement.

Oliver's response to her question was to pull her out of her chair and unto his lap, letting her face him partly so he could look at her as he answered her question, "Em, believe me when I say I'd be honored, nothing would make me happier than to have you want to call me Dad. If that's what you want then I'm fine with that. Just know that what your Mom and I have is pretty new and I might screw up sometimes but that doesn't mean I don't love her, or you anymore. Nothing Em, nothing will ever change the way I have grown to love both of you. You Smoak women have us Queen men wrapped around your little fingers."

Emily's response was to giggle and embrace Oliver warmly.

About thirty minutes after breakfast with the kids, Oliver walked out of the walk-in closet all dressed up for work making Felicity raised an eyebrow as she followed his progress with a question in her eyes.

"Before you say anything, I'm only going to be gone for half-a-day. Dad and I have to talk to the Board of Directors of QC over lunch because they are concerned about….some recent developments and they wanted to be assured that we are on top of the situation," Oliver told her honestly, "I'll be back before you know it."

"So you get to go out and I have to stay-in?" Felicity told him quirking her brow, "you do know that you are as much a target as I am."

"Yes, I know that. And I am aware of the dangers of Dad and I leaving this fortress. But just this one time, we need to do this for QC. I swear to you I am bringing a small army with me. I will be extra cautious and thinking of you the whole time."

"Hmmm, sweet talking me will get you nowhere. But I do understand the need for the Queens to make an appearance as if it was business as usual. I'm just sorry I am the cause of any concern by the Board."

"Hey, none of this is your fault. You should remember that. In the meantime," he sat down on the arm of the chair Felicity was seated on putting one arm around her, "you continue to take it easy, less of this," he told her pointing to the laptop in front of her, "I'm thinking we should have a picnic dinner just the four of us tonight in the gardens?" He asked her in a tone of voice that was so sweet Felicity couldn't resist so all she could do was nod as he leaned down to capture her lips.

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"It seems that it's just you and me for breakfast," Moira said lifting her head as she spotted Donna walk into the breakfast room, "the men have business to attend to."

Donna paused at the doorway, it hasn't been an easy two days for her with Felicity still not talking to her although the Queens, particularly Robert and Moira had tried to be warm to her. Oliver had also tried his best although their present interaction was strained at best given the fact that the man was totally in her daughter's corner as he should be.

She had still to meet her grand daughter too. From time to time, she thought she could hear the laughter of children but the house was just too big and she was a bit uneasy to explore not being used to such grand environment.

"I don't want to be keeping you if you have better things to do too," Donna responded as she took a seat as regally as possible, trying to put her best foot forward.

Moira smirked, "I've been grounded the same way you have been. Men have an archaic way of taking care of their women. But maybe this could all work out well, we can use this timeout to bond. It's very clear that my son and your daughter are in this for the long haul. Truly, we all love Felicity and little Emily. They are part of this family and by extension, you are."

"Oh, I…..that's…Felicity and my grand daughter have truly found a family with you. For that I am eternally grateful. I haven't been the best example of a mother to my daughter, nor have I been there when she needed me the most. That will always be my greatest regret. What I lost, I don't think I could get back. I don't even know why I'm here honestly. But as your son bluntly said it, my daughter wanted me here even if she couldn't bear the sight of me and I shouldn't further disappoint her by refusing her."

Moira placed a heavily jeweled hand over Donna's arm and squeezed it in sympathy, "I don't know your story, nor has Felicity shared her side. But mother to mother blood ties will always be thicker than water, sometimes we just need a little time for healing."

Donna exhaled trying to temper the tears that started to form before she grasped the hand of Moira, "I hope you're right. I only wanted the best for my Felicity. When I found out that we shared the same fate and even worst that the father of her child had walked out on her, I reacted in the worst way possible forgetting that my daughter and I had one difference, she was better than I was. She had always been better than I was."

"Don't sell yourself short Donna, can I call you Donna? You raised her single-handedly. Mothers aren't always perfect. They just expect us to be. Now enough of this heavy talk, my grandson will be celebrating his 7th birthday this weekend. Maybe you can help me with that. Everyone else seems to be occupied."

Donna smiled her first genuine smile since entering the Queen Mansion, "I would love that."

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"I'm taking a day. Even villains should have a day-off."

His second-in-command Marcus nodded, "I've got everything covered boss."

Slade looked at his trusted second, "yes, I believe you do. Don't call unless the world is ending."

"I won't call even if the world has ended. I know the drill."

This banter had been constant between them for almost a year now everytime Slade had disappeared for a day. This was no exception. Slade appraised the room one last time before he walked out with a little pep in his step.

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"You know, you could always go down and say hi," Barry said as he spotted Felicity sneaking a look at her mother with Moira at the gardens from the windows from the guest wing which Barry and Cisco occupied and where all three of them with Thea and the kids where now gathered keeping themselves busy.

Felicity scratched her neck and scrunched her face, "yeah maybe later. Truth is, I don't know how to talk to her, what to say, how to make this right. Oliver's right after all, she is my mother. But it's been years. The hurt has subsided but I don't know what the new normal is yet between my Mom and me."

Barry squeezed her shoulder, "you'll know what to say when that time comes. But word of advice from someone who has known you for years, you can always start with something simple, like family. Emily is her grand daughter, maybe introducing them to one another would be a good start."

Felicity turned to Barry and embraced him, a tear falling as they slowly parted, "you really are a great friend, the best."

Barry gave her a smile, "I know, I will always be your closest friend but," sending her a smirk, "I think I lost my spot as the most important guy in your life." At Felicity's blush, Barry continued, "but that's perfectly fine. Oliver's a good guy. Didn't mind loosing my spot to a guy like him. He loves you, so does his whole family. There was a time it was only Emily, and Cisco and I. Now our family has grown, one more would make it perfect. Go talk to your mother."

"You know what Barry, I think I will." Felicity told him giving him another long hug.

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"Hey."

Both Moira and Donna looked back to see Felicity approaching them tentatively holding on to both Connor and Emily's hands.

"Felicity, nice of you to join us." Moira said by way of greeting. Giving the mother and daughter a speculative glance before she continued. "Donna, this is the young man of the hour two days from now, it's his 7th birthday we were planning. Connor meet Felicity's mom."

Connor looked tentatively at Felicity who gave him a nudge by way of pointing her chin in her mother's direction which the boy took as a sign and went forward sticking out his arm for a shake but was instead swallowed up in a hug by Donna who had always loved hugs.

"Nice to meet you young man. I'm looking forward to your birthday party in a couple of days. Invited or not, I am crashing your party," Donna said attempting to lighten what was going to be a heavy moment once she was faced with her daughter and granddaughter.

"You are Emly's grannie and Auntie Felicity's mom, so you definitely can come to my party."

Donna smiled at the little boy, "then that's settled I'm going."

"Since that's settled, why don't you little man come with me. We still have a few details to talk about for your party." Moira said gesturing for her grandson to join her. As they passed Felicity she squeezed her hand as a gesture of support, "give her a chance dear."

Felicity gave Moira a smile of acknowledgement before she inhaled grabbing Emily's arm and moved forward to where her mother was.

"Mom," Felicity said.

"Felicity baby," Donna said at the same time a little nervously.

"You go ahead," Felicity said giving her mother a smile.

"I just wanted to ask if this was your daughter. She's so beautiful."

Felicity looked down at Emily who was staring at the older woman in awe.

"Emily honey," Felicity attracted her daughter's attention, "there is someone I want you to meet," pulling her forward until they reached Donna. "This is Donna, my mother and your grandma."

Emily looked at Felicity a little confused then suddenly everything started to click in her mind, "You're my Mommy's mom? My grandma like Grandma Moira is Connor's?"

"Yes, I am. And it's so nice to finally meet you." Donna looked around and spotted a bench a few steps over and guided her granddaughter over with Felicity following more slowly. "I'm sorry I haven't been around, that I missed so much of your life. God, you look so much like your mother, so pretty. My pretty little poppet, come and give grandma a hug."

Emily, who had a very loving heart immediately flew to the arms of her grandma Donna and gave her a tight hug.

Felicity who remained standing, looked at her daughter and mother and couldn't contain her emotions when tears started to form in her eyes. She never even entertained the thought that one day this would be possible. After her mother had walked out on her while she was pregnant, she accepted that it would be the last time they would see one another.

But circumstances, even almost tragic ones like what could have happened to her could be a way of turning things around. A way for second chances to be possible.

While Emily was still in the arms of Donna, the mother and daughter made eye contact both of them tentatively sizing the other up until Donna finally leaned back from embracing her granddaughter, "Emily sweetheart, would you mind giving your mother and me a few minutes."

"Okay," the little girl said innocently unaware of the tension emanating from both of the Smoak women giving each one tight hugs before she ran back into the house in search of Connor.

"So…," both women started at the same time and laughed since they spoke in sync. The laugh was all it took to break the tension as Felicity sat down and grabbed her mother's hands.

"I'll start," Donna said solemnly. "My baby, I've missed you so much," placing a hand on her daughter's cheek. "I haven't been the best mother have I? I always forget that you are a better version of me, stronger, wiser. I was afraid that you'd repeat my mistakes, have the same fate I had which would have been such a waste because you were always destined for something greater."

Felicity squeezed her mother's hands interrupting her, "oh mom. I don't think you did so bad yourself. I think I turned out okay."

"Oh baby, you were the only good thing I did in my life. And even that I messed up."

Felicity wiped away her mother's tears. "You didn't really. If it wasn't for you raising me single-handedly, I wouldn't turn out the way I have. I got that strength you say I have from you. It was you who encouraged me to go after my dreams, that I could achieve anything I set my heart on. Sure it hurt that I didn't have your support, I wouldn't lie. It almost broke me. You walking away hurt more than my daughter's father walking out on me. But you're still my mother. You will always be my mother, the only one I have and the only one I want."

"Oh baby," Donna whispered overwhelmed by the well of emotion.

"So let's just move pass the apologies and regrets and just make new memories filled with happiness and love."

Donna smiled finally at her daughter's suggestion and nodded, "let's do that. And I really would want to spend more time with you and my very pretty granddaughter."

"We have all the time in the world. You and I aren't going any place anytime soon."

"Then you have more than enough time to tell me about that man of yours who's obviously head over heels in love with you. Only you could build a successful company from nothing, raise a daughter all by yourself, land yourself a billionaire and live in a freakin' castle!"

"It's just a house, a very big house Mom. Okay fine, it's a Mansion. And yes I freaked out when I first realized how big this place was. And you haven't even seen half of what's in this place, I mean it could rival a mall!"

As Moira was busy dividing her time between tempering the excitement of her grandson and now Emily who had joined them since she was telling them that they had finally decided on robotics and 'transformers' as the theme of Connor's private birthday party, she also had been sneaking glances outside the window to check if she did the right thing by giving the mother and daughter a little push towards reconciliation.

Moira smiled as she finally spotted Felicity and her mother giggling like little girls as they gestured animatedly lost in their own world.

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Oliver closed the door to Emily's room. Felicity and him had tucked in Connor then Emily for the night after what was the best family picnic in Oliver's opinion he had ever been a part of.

Maybe it was because it was with his 'family' the one he had chosen, not the one he was born into. Not that he was in any way complaining about the family he was born into knowing he was more blessed than most. But Oliver truly never felt happier, lighter and carefree like he had tonight. Everything from the animated chatter of little Emily about her favorite things in the world to Connor's excitement about his upcoming birthday to just he and Felicity cuddling with her back to his front as they both took turns engaging the children.

His family, Oliver sighed. The only way this could get even better was if they would officially become a true family, with Felicity carrying his name and little Emily too. And he swore he would never ask for anything more apart from him and Felicity being blessed with maybe one to two more children. So overwhelmed was Oliver by the direction of his thought took that Felicity had to snap her fingers in front of his eyes twice.

"You spaced out," Felicity told him teasing him.

"I was thinking happy thoughts," was Oliver's answer to her smiling, "and yes they were about you," he circled his arms around Felicity and pulling her toward him, "and the kids and any future kids we would have together."

As Oliver said the last part of his statement Felicity started to lean back, a palm pressed against his chest, her full attention on him.

"Kids?" Felicity squeaked out.

"Am I going too fast? Scaring you away?"

Felicity now placed both her palms on his chest but did not attempt to break Oliver's embrace, her expression unreadable, "honestly, everything about this, about me practically moving in with you, sharing space with you, sharing my life with you….this should be freaking me out. But if I look back, none of it really is."

Felicity started to find a speck of non-existent dust on Oliver's shirt interesting as she continued, "I mean there is still a lot about you that I still don't know, things I have yet to discover that will probably make me react in certain ways." Felicity paused and moved her hands from his chest to locked behind his neck bringing her closer to him, "but between Slade and my mother, two people I would have never thought who would tilt my perspective on life, I'm definitely all in. Slade had taught me that a life could be taken away at any second so let's not waste any moment. And just early, my Mom was telling me that if I had something worth holding on too, that I should never let it go. So are you scaring me away? No, you Oliver Queen are doing the exact opposite of scaring me away and about moving too fast? The fact that we are out here in the hallway and not yet in the bedroom tells me that you aren't really moving as fast I would have thought you should be…."

"Eeekk!" Felicity shrieked as Oliver shifted and carried her like a sack of potatoes toward 'their' bedroom.

"Well then I think I should do something about that." Oliver pushed the door closed with his foot then marched toward the California king-size bed and deposited Felicity unceremoniously on the bed.

Felicity giggled, the anticipation of what they would be getting into in a few minutes just making her giddy.

Oliver had been deliberately slow in his undressing of both Felicity and himself. This was the love of his life, the woman he wanted to kiss every inch off. The one he would spend the rest of his life with, through thick and thin.

He let his thumb travel down the length of her spine creating a tingle of electricity that had Felicity burying her lips further into his neck.

She was on top of him, doing to him what he had done to her. Exploring every inch of him.

They haven't even had intercourse yet, content to lazily discover one another, teasing, licking, biting, all done with deliberate attention to get to know each other intimately.

Oliver abruptly reversed their positions with him now on top of her his hand once again on her skin in a semi-circular pattern tracing a line from her side to the finally reach it's ultimate destination, the inside of her thigh as a whimper escaped her.

"Ready my love?"

Her response was a nod and a smile that sent his insides soaring as he adjusted his position so he could tease her entrance a few times before he very slowly pushed his cock inside her.

He started to rock his body, his thrusting gaining traction encouraged by the sounds Felicity was making as he plunged deeper inside of her. She cried out, shouting his name in pleasure and wanting nothing but to give her more of that pleasure. He grabbed her thighs and positioned them on his shoulders as he pushed forward, deepening his penetration.

They were lost in each other. Nothing but pure pleasure, everything else disappeared.

All that remained was the two of them.

She pulled him even closer as she threw an arm around his neck, her lips sucking his neck as the wave of her orgasm hit her.

Knowing that Felicity was close, he grabbed her hands from his neck and used one of his hands to lock her arms above her head making her drop her head back on the pillow her expression one of utter bliss, reflecting her inner most feelings.

Oliver built an almost punishing but pleasurable pace as both of them grew closer and closer, their hands now entwined together. After a hard thrust Oliver pulled out completely from her only to slam back into her with so much force that finally her walls shattered pushing her over the edge, bringing on another of those mind blowing orgasm she ever experienced only with Oliver.

But Oliver wasn't done. He continued to draw out her orgasm by continuing to thrust in and out of her until her body was ready for another.

What finally pulled another orgasm from her was his erratic thrusts signaling that he was almost ready to shoot his seed inside of her.

She gently disentangled his hands from hers so she could reach the sides of his face, telling him with her eyes and with her gentle caress of his cheeks that she loved him. That being with him was everything.

He kissed her suddenly, leaning forward while he held he thighs pushing them off his shoulders and wider apart, continuing to thrust into her until everything exploded around them and they climaxed together.

Moments later, they were still breathing hard, with him still firmly inside of her as he scattered intimate kisses across her face.

"I love you, so very much Felicity," Oliver said between kisses.

"And I you Oliver. Like I've never loved any man. And I will spend the rest of my days telling you, showing you how much I do."

Oliver leaned down and intimately run his tongue across her bottom lip before he trapped it between his lips, chuckling a little in the joy of just being able to do something like that.

"You are my Queen, and I mean that not only metaphorically but literally. One day, soon. I will have a ring on your finger, and you will be a Queen."

"Is that a proposal Mr. Queen?" Felicity asked him.

Oliver looked at her as if she was the most adorable thing in to world, and to him she really was as he answered her with a soft smile, "you deserve a real proposal. Not one where we are both naked in bed. Soon, my love." He leaned in again and kissed her tenderly before he pulled back. "What I will do though is make you a promise, right now. "

Oliver kissed her nose, "a promise to be true."

He then kissed her ears, "to be faithful."

Her temple, "to be your knight when you need one."

Her eyes, "the blanket to warm you on cold nights."

Her cheeks, "the man who you always will be proud to call your own."

"Oh Oliver, you already are," Felicity pulled him as close as she could.

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Over in the other side of Starling City, another couple was having the same kind of night.

Still breathing hard as he pulled out of his woman, he wiped the sweat the built up on his lover's cheeks.

"You're sending me away again, aren't you?"

"Now is not yet the time for us to be together. The time will come, that I promise you. But for now, I need you away from me and out of harms way."

The woman sighed in frustration, "is this really all necessary. You have more than enough, money, an army to do your bidding, power, me. Are we not enough?"

The man sat up on the bed, his legs falling on the floor as he looked away before he answered, "you know why. I have been nothing but honest with you and only with you. Don't ever think that you are not enough," he looked back at the woman, cupping her cheeks, "because you are. If at all I am capable of love, it is with you. But long before I met you, the plan had been cast in stone. I cannot move forward without looking back, for the longest time I haven't been able to do much anything about it. But now I have the means and nothing is going to get in the way of that."

"Not even for me?"

The man finally stood up and pulled up his boxers, dressing up quietly while he knew the woman's eyes remained on him. When he was finally done he leaned down and gave her a lingering kiss on the cheek before he stepped away and almost reached the door before he spoke again, "this is also about you. I wont be able to fully move forward if I am not able to avenge the death of my wife and daughter. This is both personal and business. You should understand that by now. I will get someone to drive you back to the plane. I will see you soon."

With that final statement, Slade Wilson opened the door and stepped out.

The woman on the other hand gave out another long sigh at the same time clutching her tummy. She had wanted to tell him that he was going to be a father. That he should be careful. That he should rethink his plans now that she was with child. But he was right. She did understand why he had to do this.

Not only was it good business, the weapon had the potential to be worth billions of dollars, more than enough to ensure that their unborn child's future would be secured. She personally understood why Starling City was significant in his plans, why the City had to be the setting for his demonstration.

It was a City that held unpleasant memories for him after all. This was where his wife and daughter where murdered.

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Whew! Long one but I think all the arcs have been set and the next few chapters are going to be a roller coaster ride.

Tell me which part you loved the most.


	13. Back with A Vengeance

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: It's been a long three months since I've last updated this story. The holidays and family got in the way of my writing and family always comes first especially if we are only complete for a whole month in a year. It's hard when you live in three different continents but such is life. We all need to be where we are all meant to be.**

**Anyway, DARKEST BEFORE DAWN has definitely been a personal journey for me considering the time I had put in writing the first twelve chapters. And while the thirteenth on was written last November, as usually I needed to be fully confident I put out a chapter I was proud of hence the edits and back and forth on some details of the chapter.**

**Finally the chapter is at a place that I am proud of. It's equally angsty as it is light, just the way i like it. And i hope, just the way you like it too. I honestly had to read back from the beginning of this story and rediscover why this is a personal favorite of mine. Not only do I whole-heartedly love Felicity in Arrow, but Olicity is the reason I rediscovered my passion to write. I may not be the best one around but I am very proud of my work.**

**To those of you who have patiently waited for this chapter, three and a half months, I hope I have done this chapter justice.**

**Thank you again to all for your continued support. You all inspire me. For those who have left me personal messages, comments and reviews in Archive of Our Own or Fanfiction, thank you for taking the time out to drop me a note. The ones in Ao3 are especially precious and may have made me tear up a couple of times.**

**Well here goes the next chapter.**

**As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:**

**Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)**

**Tumblr - everythinglollipop**

**Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies**

**Ao3 - lollipopdiaries**

**Wattpad - lollipopdiairies**

* * *

 

**DARKEST BEFORE DAWN**

**Chapter 13 – Back with a Vengeance**

It had been two weeks, fourteen days, six hours and seven minutes to be exact since Donna Smoak had arrived at the Queen Mansion. And since that time, Slade Wilson had not made any threat, even veiled nor disrupted their lives in any way.

It was like he had dropped out of the face of the earth.

It was just like Slade to play this game. Somehow he knew his absence would wound up everyone's nerves more. They had after all let Slade rule their lives for quite a few weeks. They had all allowed themselves to be semi-imprisoned inside the Queen Mansion embracing the threat he presented, but not anymore.

Oliver and Robert Queen had now gone back to their regular routine of being at the helm of QC as Chairman of the Board and CEO respectively. Oliver had reluctantly 'allowed' Felicity to spend only some days at her Game On office during the last week, bringing her all the way up to her office door and picking her up the same way everyday during the last week. The rest of the day she spent under his watchful eye inside his private CEO offices in QC.

Felicity had taken being back on the helm of Game On like a house on fire. Most of the pending app projects have been completed and were ready for presentation including a project she had assigned herself as project team leader. It was a game app for a popular wrestling entertainment company that was launching it's game app in a couple of months pulling out all the stops as far as the media was concerned.

Felicity and her team had first gone to the Atlanta headquarters of the entertainment company a few months back before all the shit storm had begun. It was one of the most important projects that they had closed and they had celebrated that back then.

Now that the app was all but complete and ready for the first test run/presentation to the client Felicity was equally excited and worrisome. Excited because this was a milestone for Game On, worried because she knew Oliver wouldn't just agree to her going all the way to Atlanta for the presentation. But she had to make that presentation in person. This was one of those things that required her as CEO to make the face to face presentation to the CEO client counterpart.

That was however easier said than done as Felicity waited patiently for Oliver's return to his CEO office from a WC Board Meeting. The same one which Felicity had commandeered with the Queens blessings of course during her 'work days' in QC.

She had rehearsed her speech a couple of times, once with Barry and Cisco who both played the role of Oliver Queen saying what they both thought would be his standard arguments with her playing herself trying to navigate points of conflict which may stalemate her ultimate objective of getting Oliver to agree to her out-of-town trip. Not that the decision to go or not to was Oliver's to make but she knew her man well enough to know the man would make protestations, very loud protestations.

It was not only necessary for her personally to make the presentation, but with Game On's recent debacles, she needed to take the lead in putting her company back on track as was the role of a good CEO. Not that the company had suffered amply. Well they had temporarily for a span of two weeks when two contracts had been cancelled for their failure to deliver but they had quickly rebounded not only because during her down time Felicity was able to have a breakthrough with how to move forward with innovative apps, but QC had also stepped in and contracted their services to develop an app that would make QC more accessible to the public via a downloadable app that showcased the range of innovative products with a check-out counter that allowed anyone to purchase a product online.

It was the first step into Oliver and Felicity's worlds totally colliding. Not only were they a known couple, that snippet had already made the rounds of the news and gossip sites. Thankfully most everyone had given them their privacy after the back-to-back highly publicized drama they had both been at the center of previously.

Surprisingly it was the innovative corporate partnership between the industry giant QC and the young tech company Game On that was making the presses. It was after all big business news anytime something like this would happen anywhere in the world.

Game On was now gaining the recognition it deserved. And Felicity and her team were more than up to the task of moving beyond being branded as just a game app provider/innovator and into the more competitive and fast paced world of general and customized app developments.

QC was a first for Game On to delved beyond the world of game apps that was why Felicity had easily agreed to Oliver's suggestion for her to hold office part of the time at was their joint project after all. Oliver had proposed it to the Board of Directors and the Board had agreed unanimously to the recommendation. She wasn't really sure if it was just because of her skills or if it was partially also due to her relationship with the CEO.

In a way, she was living her future life at the present time. Seeing the life that probably Moira Queen had lived with Robert because not only was she 'working' on the special project with Oliver. Most of the staff, at least those involved to a certain degree with PR, marketing and the executive support staff had taken to including and on several occasions consulting her on trivial QC matters like charity events funded by QC and even asked for her social calendar so they could align it with not only Oliver's official business and social calendar but also the Queen family. Apparently, there was a whole department dedicated for this purpose. It just showed her again how far removed her life was from the Queens.

She, Felicity Smoak was for all intent and purpose a Queen without the official last name added. This was her life now.

Her world was completely messing with that of the Queens so seamlessly, she hadn't realized how intertwined it had become.

And as weird as it was, her mother and Moira had really bonded like old friends despite their many differences. It seemed as if both were determined to break down the barriers and genuinely fully embrace this new normal of them destined to be one big family together.

The door to Oliver's CEO office opened with Oliver walking in to find Felicity frowning, her gaze fixed on a blank space on the wall. During the last couple of minutes before Oliver's re-entry, Felicity had been psyching herself up for her 'talk' with Oliver but instead she was a bundle of nerves.

Knowing that this was her default expression when something was generally bugging her, Oliver approached her slowly bending down to peck her cheek making her jump up in surprise.

"Sorry babe, didn't mean to startle you," Oliver started to say sitting down on the couch beside her.

Felicity's frown deepened, her frowning expression now focused on him.

"What happened? Did something happen while I was in my meeting?" Oliver stumbled over his questions in his attempt to quickly get to the bottom of what was bothering his girl.

"We have to talk." Felicity simply said, her hand to her chest for emphasis.

Oliver immediately was by Felicity's side, although his face dropped at Felicity's statement. Having 'the talk' with anyone was never a pleasant experience.

"What do we need to talk about that has to be right now and can't wait 'til tonight," Oliver asked her slowly.

Felicity positioned herself infront of Oliver who was seated at the coffee table in front of the couch Felicity was seated on.

"It good news actually, great news related to Game On. I never mentioned this to you before because this was before we even met but Game On was awarded a contract by a wrestling entertainment company to develop their wrestling app, a contract we won against several other game developers, most of them more established than mine. I was awesome in that presentation and the prettiest one considering I was the only girl presenting that day."

Felicity reached out to hold Oliver's hand before she continued, "the game app is finished and ready for pre-testing and presentation to the client. They're set to launch the app in a big way in the next couple of months. Since I personally developed the app and as the face and CEO of Game On, i have to make the presentation myself."

"Okay. So it this you asking for moral support, wanting me to go with you to the presentation because just say when I'll be there. When are they flying in?" Oliver was still smiling as he asked consumed by the knowledge that his girl wanted him beside her for what was an important highlight in her career.

"That's the thing," Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand tighter. "They aren't flying in, I'm flying out to their headquarters in Atlanta, just like the last time. They're the clients." Felicity finished her statement by leaning forward in an attempt to soften the message by pecking Oliver on the lips.

Oliver abruptly stood up, letting go of her hand in the process.

"No. I won't allow it and that's final." Oliver simply said as he stood up.

"You won't allow it! You won't allow it! I am not asking you for permission, I'm informing you of my plans as a courtesy to you. You are not the boss of me!"

Oliver swallowed a breathe at Felicity's shouted answer but stood his ground, "Someone has to be the boss of you if you don't take this threat seriously! Why do you value your life so little when I value it more than my own! You are not leaving and that's my final word on the matter!" Oliver shouted his response back and walked away from Felicity exiting the door with a loud bang.

* * *

 

"So you and Oliver….talked, i take it?" Barry asked Felicity tentatively as he sat down on the lounge chair beside Felicity who was resting beside the indoor heated pool inside the Queen Mansion.

Felicity scrunched her face and scratched the back of her neck before she answered Barry, "Oliver in the gym probably massacring the punching bags was a dead giveaway huh?"

"Well that," Barry paused, "and John Diggle nursing some battle bruises as I passed him from the hall coming in."

"Poor John, I honestly didn't think he would be at the receiving end of Oliver's….."

"Anger? Frustration?"

"Both? Barry, Oliver went all highhanded and all but told me I couldn't go before he walked out the door of his own office when I told him. He just left and didn't come back. It was just John who came in a few minutes later to take me back her to the Mansion. He had no right to control my life, not as my boyfriend."

"No he didn't." Barry agreed with her.

"And now I'm not sure anymore if me still being here is the right thing."

Barry looked at his friend in disbelief. "Felicity, you think one fight is going the end what you and Oliver have? Are you serious? This is you and Oliver we are talking about. Two people who have lived through what most couples would have never survived. In fact, that is what brought both of you together. Just because you're having your first ever couple's fight, lover's quarrel or whatever it's called these days doesn't mean what you have is over."

"Well, it feels like it. I've been out here since John brought me back afraid to face him. And he didn't seem to want to seek me out anytime soon."

"Do you want to go to Atlanta to make that presentation? I could make the presentation in your place if need be, you know."

"No, it's my project. My presentation. Me wanting to be there is my choice. He will just have to understand that and live with it." Felicity told Barry with conviction.

"You do know he's just scared. Scared of what may happen to you. It's the first time you will be apart and the Slade thing isn't over by a long shot. The threat is still very real. We have to take that into consideration too."

"I'm well aware of that."

"Just put yourself in his shoes. Then maybe all this will be clearer. For all you know his reaction was just more shock than anything else."

Felicity palmed herself on her temple, "now I feel like a complete idiot. I'm overreacting to his overreaction, am I not?"

Barry exhaled deeply before he answered his friend, "maybe. Honestly, there are no two people who I know who belong together more than you and Oliver. You can't fault him for trying to keep you safe by keeping you near. It's just him trying to control as much as he can after almost loosing you. He's always been a little intense," at Felicity's look, Barry corrected himself, "okay, al lot intense when it came to you. You can't blame him or that."

"I don't."

"Maybe both of you just needed a little space to think. I bet you he's torturing himself right now. Guilty about the way he reacted. Remember, his reaction is coming from a place of fear. Fear of loosing you after he found you."

"You think?" Felicity asked her best friend.

"Well, he wouldn't be the angsty, tortured soul Oliver that I know if her wasn't. Go to him. If it's better than sitting around here torturing yourself too."

"I think I will. I'll go to him." Felicity stood up and embraced her best friend tightly. "I love you Barry Allen."

Barry pulled away from his best friend, "I love you too Felicity Smoak. Now go find your man and same those very same words to him, just don't forget to substitute my name with his or he might get the wrong idea. Wouldn't want to be at the receiving end of his fists anytime soon."

Felicity was already a few steps away from Barry when she heard him call out, making her turn around, "and keep this in your mind when you talk to him, you two are perfect together. But even perfect relationships need to be worked on. What you two have is a young relationship. Despite how serious and how picture-perfect you look together you still have a lot of things to work on."

Felicity ran back and grabbed Barry so hard to give him another hug at the same time giggling as a tear fell.

After a few seconds Barry pulled away and looked her in the eye, "now go find your man. Someone once told me make-up sex was worth the petty couple fights."

Felicity gave Barry one last quick hug, "Barry Allen when did you get to be so wise," she gave him one last smile before she almost ran back inside the Mansion in search for the man she was in love with.

* * *

 

His lips touched her belly once more, then once more again. He just couldn't stop.

"How long?"

"Thirteen weeks. I wanted to tell you the last time. But you had so much in your mind and the way we parted, I just couldn't. I don't want to bring a life into this world knowing we will be taking thousands, maybe millions of lives. And yes, I said we, because this isn't just about me now, or you. This is about us now, and this little life inside of me. "

He pulled her so that she was safely ensconced inside the circle of his large arms.

"It's almost done. Everything is in place. I don't think I can stop it now even if I wanted to."

She turned around so that she was facing him, "I know you wouldn't do it for me. But will you do it for our unborn child?"

He sighed, tried to appease her with a lingering kiss on her temple, "honey, I don't think I can even if I wanted to. Several investors have put millions into this. They wouldn't allow me pull-out of this, not without heavy consequences on my part. You'll have to go away for a long while. I have to keep you away from this."

She started to shake her head in protest only for him to grab her head with his big hands, stilling her action.

"No, you said it. This isn't just about you and me now. It's about our child. If I am to be a better father this time, I would want my child to be as far from me as possible, away from this life. I've made my peace with the life I led. I never expected to fall in love again, but I have. Always know that whatever else I have done, whatever else I would still do in the future. I loved you. It was real. It was true."

She circled her arms around her man, weeping with abandon knowing that this was indeed goodbye. She knew It had to be this way. To give the life she had inside of her a fighting chance.

"I love you too, Slade. Know that. Keep that in here," she said, resting her palm above his heart. "This isn't the end of the road. I will see you, maybe not tomorrow, not in a week. But someday."

* * *

 

Felicity had searched the home gym, then other parts of the house which she knew where Oliver's usual nesting places but those places did not produce the man she was seeking. She now made her way to their bedroom, tentatively entering the room still unsure of how he would react to her after their last talk.

Felicity looked around and found the room empty. She was about to leave but heard the distant sound of water dripping….the shower. She made her way to the en suite, opening the door slowly and spotted a smoky shadow of her man in the shower, steam surrounding it.

At that moment, she made a decision. Emboldened like never before as to what she must do next.

A couple of minutes later she was completely naked with the man inside the shower none the wiser that he was to be invaded in a few seconds.

At the last second before Felicity was about to push the shower door opened she paused, nervous again at the reception she would get once she was face to face with Oliver.

It was her second of pause that had Oliver sensing something was different in the air as he turned around in time to see her standing just outside the shower door, her hand on the handle, completely naked.

For the next few seconds they just stared at one another, neither moving. She was outside the door and he inside as steam continuing to build inside as drops of water bounced off his naked skin.

In the end, he was the one who pulled the door open for her, a neon red sign that beckoned her to step inside and make that final step to make him feel her love.

As soon as she stepped in, Felicity's arms gravitated toward Oliver's neck in a vice grip, her face buried in his chest.

"I'm sorry," her voice muffled not only by the running water but also because all she could manage was a whisper, distracted as she was by her man's ample chest.

Oliver who was forever in a panic every time Felicity acted out of character grabbed her face so he could see her eyes, the window to her soul.

"What's wrong?"

Felicity bit her lip and gave her man a look that made Oliver cave forgetting all about his hurt earlier.

Felicity shook her head, unable to say anything else but, "nothing's wrong, not now that I'm here with you. This is my place, right here." And she circled her arms around him as if to further demonstrate what she meant.

"Felicity..." Oliver called her name but paused. Now he was totally unsure of what to do next. One minute she was pushing him away, the next she was acting as if she never wanted to let him go, ever.

Felicity leaned forward and gave Oliver a quick kiss catching her lips before she could pull away from him completely.

With Felicity flustered, Oliver pulled Felicity closer as he pushed her lips apart with his tongue.

When the need for air necessitated Oliver to stop his assault on Felicity's senses, Felicity took to opportunity, he mind telling her to clear the air with her man first. "Oliver..." Felicity attempted to say but has cut by Oliver once again kissing her this time more tenderly, the angst of the first kiss they shared a second ago brought about the last few hours of torture now over.

"Later, I promise." Oliver told Felicity. "Right now, I need you, I need you." And with that Oliver continued trailing kisses down her throat en route to her neck lifting her up gently as he pushed her back against the tiles wall, the water continuing to drip around them.

Much later, after i loved you's had been said again and again and love expressed so many times until both of them fell asleep in exhaustion.

Much later, closer to when the dawn of a new day was finally breaking. Oliver woke up sensing someone watching him.

Felicity.

She had been wrapped in his arms but her free palm was tracing a pattern on the skin of his right bicep.

"Hey, sorry for waking you," Felicity started apologetically but the uncertainty of earlier was back in her voice.

"Our unfinished conversation still on your mind?" Oliver asked her knowing that was exactly it.

Felicity breathed deeply, "yeah. It's a little difficult not to think about it.

"I'm sorry for walking out," Oliver started to say as he lifted Felicity so that she was fully prone on top of him lying down, her eyes level with his. "That wasn't very mature of me, nor was it called for. I've promised you I'd keep you safe, you and Emily. You being inside this house, protected by an army of security. This is where I want you to be until the threat on your life is over. You, leaving this sanctuary every morning going back to work and me having to leave you to do that, it kills me every time. I can only breathe a little easier once you're at QC and in the same proximity I am. I know that makes me a controlling boyfriend. Both things I've never been, controlling and a boyfriend. But you changed everything. I want you within my sight every second of the day, that's the best way I can think of protecting you. Maybe that makes me a gargantuan dick but, it keeps you alive and safe."

Oliver leaned up so he could kiss her temple before he moved them so now he was the one on top of her, careful not to crush her as she quietly listen.

"I know this presentation is important to you and it means a better future for Game On. As much as I would want to tell you to stop working knowing that I have more than enough to provide for you and Emily, and our future life together and I'm hoping we'll still have one. I won't tell you to stop. Game On and what you've accomplished defines you the way QC defines me. You don't know how proud I am of what you've accomplished. In truth, I love you more for being that woman you are."

"And I love you too, Oliver." Felicity grabbed Oliver's face and kissed him showing him how much she really did love him.

Oliver had a big smile on his face as Felicity pulled away, continuing what he was saying, "what I should have said earlier to you, instead of walking away from you was that i know you'll do great and that I'm so very, very proud of you. And..."

And?" Felicity questioned him smiling, happy at his show of support.

"And, that I'd be more than happy to go with you to Atlanta for your presentation." Seeing Felicity start to react to his statement again, he continued his argument but this time in a very sweet tone that he hoped even she couldn't resist. "God knows I'm due for some vacation time too and I can be the supportive boyfriend I want to be with you. Carry your bags, give you back rubs, anything you may need. And honestly, me being there with you would ensure I wouldn't have a heart attack thinking about you being so far away and unprotected. Please say yes," Oliver finished even more sweetly as be leaned down to brush her lips again.

After a few kisses Felicity started to pull away but feeling rejection, Oliver pulled Felicity back for another round of kisses before she firmly pushed him away, her eyes telling him she knew what he was doing.

"How can I tell you yes if you keep trying to stop me form opening my mouth not that I don't want you kissing me, and kissing me," Felicity told him playfully as she placed a hand to the back of Oliver's head so he would get the message that he should resume kissing her again.

"Did you just say yes? As in your fine with me going with you?" Oliver asked her, surprise clearly in her voice.

"Yes. I. Did." Stealing a kiss between each word. "Honestly, I'm rather relieved you're with me. This is probably the biggest presentation I'm giving so far, this and the QC one. But the QC presentation is a little nerve-racking because I know you're there and that I have your full support. This wrestling entertainment people, not so much. I'm pretty sure I only got the contract because half the men where staring at my butt and the other half at my boobs and I shouldn't have said that because now you'll go all grrr on the men. Remember this sweetheart, all they can do is look, but all this," Felicity placed both of Oliver's palms on her boobs so suddenly that it sent him crashing his body weight on Felicity who ended up giggling, "this is all yours and yours only."

"Damn right about that," Oliver said still mildly vexed about Felicity's reveal but equally giddy at her declaration that her body was his.

* * *

 

"Mr. Wilson, you don't seem surprised by our unschedule visit."

"I've actually been expecting you. You just beat me to the punch by coming here first."

"A lot of us are getting restless considering your unfulfilled commitment to deliver the weaponry you promised us. Our millions invested in this project is not exactly chump change." The older man in the group now standing in front of Slade Wilson stated in behalf of the group.

"You being here is perfect. It's time for that little demonstration you all are salivating for," Slade told them calmly.

"How? We have been informed that you've encountered some problems. Particularly with a computer expert that understands how this works?" A younger but no nonsense Arab looking woman asked Slade.

"The computer expert in question will be more than willing to do our bidding by the end of the week. If you all are willing to stay for a few days then the little demonstration I promised you will take place this weekend, 4 days from now. Would you like me to arrange you some accommodations ladies and gentlemen?"

The older gentlemen looked at the others as each one nodded their consent then back to Slade, "Mr. Wilson we will all stay a few days. We have very high expectations for this demonstration you promised us. We do not tolerate incompetence even from you Mr. Slade. The consequences for failure to deliver are very high with this one. Say, the life of the woman and unborn child you so desperately try to hide from us."

Slade's reaction was to reach for the nearest weapon which happened to be an ancient sword as he reacted to the older man but the old mans next words stopped him, "if anything happens to any of us, your woman and unborn child will die. If this project doesn't end in the desired results as advertised, your woman and child dies. We have had eyes on them for weeks. Money talks, you should know that by now. The only way out of this is for you to guarantee that the weapon you promise all of us works. Like I said, we are all looking forward to this demonstration in four days."

With that the old man used his hand to move Slade's sword out of the way as he and the others all made their way to the exit.

At their exit, Slade directed his frustration at one of his men, putting the sword thru him and then another until his trusted second-in-command was able to grab the sword away from him to stop his rampage.

"This wasn't suppose to happen!" Slade told his man. "I should have listen to her. This wasn't suppose to happen."

"We just need to follow thru with the plan Slade. They will be safe." His second-in-command grabbed his shoulder as if to assure him. "Tell me what to do and I'll get it done."

Slade nodded once, then twice, then grunted before he sat down and directed his second to sit down to discuss the plan.

* * *

 

_stopping here...update by next week. Pinkie promise._


	14. A Home Invasion

_Author's Note: Just like the previous chapter. This one was written the previous year but I had to edit large part of it because the story has taken quite a turn (or will take a turn). It has remained a crazy helter skelter ride for Oliver and Felicity and this chapter represents that._

_A side note, this story is winding down soon. Dawn will finally break for these two, permanently._

_Can I just a moment to once again thank those who have continued to send me notes via Ao3 and Fanfiction. The ones via Ao3 get a special thank you, they are always so eloquent_ _with words of praise that makes my blush almost permanent. You know who you all are._

_A very honorable mention goes out to Joisunny who designed the story cover (i use over twitter) and to my fellow pinoy's spreading the love from Asia to the world. Yeah, we love Arrow and Olicity much too!_

_As usual, i do not own any of the characters but that doesn't stop me from showing my OTP couple some love. I hope you guys send me some of the love too via any of the following:_

_Twitter - lollipopsays (lollipopdiaries)_

_Tumblr - everythinglollipop_

_Fanfcition - lollipopdiairies_

_Ao3 - lollipopdiaries_

_Wattpad - lollipopdiairies_

* * *

 

**DARKEST BEFORE DAWN**

**Chapter 14 - Home Invasion**

"This is nice." Felicity excitedly looked at the interiors of the Queens private jet, an accessory the Queens had for many years as part of the lifestyle they maintained.

"I thought you'll like it. Beats traveling coach any day." Oliver responded nonchalantly used to the glitz by now.

"Yeah well we mere mortals save up to travel first class or even business class. That's our thrill. Flying private was not even on the list."

"Well, it's the only way you will fly from now on sweetheart."

"Ah, that needs getting used to. But really, I don't want to get used to the extravagant life. I've always been a simple girl with simple needs, and I always will be."

"Well I for one could get used to this lifestyle," gesturing at the interiors of the plane, "this screams me," Cisco interjected.

"The only thing I hear screaming is the plane blatantly rejecting your statement," Barry egged Cisco.

"Quit it you two." Felicity scolded.

"Yeah you guys need to buckle up." Oliver pipped in ending a call he was having with his Dad. "We are getting ready to taxi." Oliver told the two guys as he carefully strapped on the seatbelt of his girlfriend.

"Everything okay?" Felicity asked curiously.

Oliver smiled then gave his girl a peck in the cheek, "looks like it."

* * *

 

"How many days again are Mommy and Daddy going to be away?" Emily asked both her Aunt Thea and her grandma Donna.

"They'll be back before you know it. They'll be back in two days," Thea answered her. Thea was tasked together with Donna to look after the kids as both Robert and Moira had business to attend to.

It was both Donna and Thea who brought the kids back and forth to school nowadays. A tasked they both enjoyed. It gave the two some bonding moments since Donna was less rigid than Moira Queen was, more like a cool older sister if Thea was to accurately describe Felicity's mother.

The three of them where waiting for Connor who had to stay in school for an extra hour for a special class project. The four of them where then to proceed to their favorite ice cream house for a scoop or two.

"I hope they never have to go away again. I miss Mommy and Daddy," Emily continued to say.

"I'm sure they're missing you too. Both you and Con." Donna told her grand daughter giving her a tight squeeze.

"It's just that the bad man. He's still out there isn't he?"

Donna and Thea looked at one another then at John Diggle who was seated at the front passenger seat of the SUV.

"That's right Em. I promise you, I'll protect you. You have nothing to worry about." John told her looking the little girl in the eye best as he can from his vantage.

"But who's going to protect Mommy. Con and I heard you and Daddy talking about the bad man being after Mommy," Emily eyed John right back.

"Em, Ollie is not going to let anything happen to your Mom." This time Thea was the one who gave little Emily a hug.

"Daddy saved me once." Emily told everyone what they all already knew.

"And he is going to save your Mom if she needs saving too." Thea answered.

"But Mommy is badass too. She saved Con and me."

"That right honey, that's why you don't have to worry about them. Barry and Cisco are with them too. Barry tells me he's a black belt. Isn't that right Thea?" Donna asked.

"What? How should I know," Thea answered defensively as both Emily and Donna smiled.

"Uncle Barry's sweet on Aunt Thea." Then Emily proceeded to demonstrate just how by hugging herself and making kissy kissy lips just as Connor opened the door of the car.

"Eeww Em, what are you doing!" Connor asked Emily as he sat down beside her.

"I'm just showing Grandma what we saw both Aunt Thea and Uncle Barry doing the other day."

"Em, that was a secret! We agreed not to tell." Connor's eyes widened at Emily's reveal.

"Oh my God! This isn't happening," Thea mourned, her face buried beneath her palms in shame and embarrassment.

"Oh don't worry about that dear. We all knew about the two of you already," Donna teased Thea further.

"Everyone?" Thea peaked from behind her fingers at Donna.

"Everyone, right John."

"Everyone. Where you trying to hide it?" John simply answered.

"Boo Hoo. Let's just go for ice cream before I change my mind," Thea said her hands now crossed as she eyed the two youngsters.

* * *

 

"Good, everyone's home. Tonight is family night. Even if Oliver and Felicity are out of town we should have one." Moira said.

"It's been awhile since this last happened." Thea embraced her mom.

"It's a tradition that should never be forgotten no matter the circumstances. Donna and Emily will be joining us for the first time. I've instructed John to give most of the men the night off, they've been overworked. John, Lyla will be joining us?"

"Of course Mrs. Queen," John answered just as the front door opened and closed, welcoming Lyla in, John's wife.

"Ah, here's Lyla. Pre-dinner drinks are served." Robert said as started to pass around drinks to everyone including Emily and Connor who got a glass of orange juice each much to the chagrin of both who were expecting something else for the occasion.

"Not 'til you're eighteen young lady," Robert's statement earned a snicker from Con who started to tease Emily before he heard his grandfather's next statement, "and that goes for you too Con," making Connor loose his smile and Emily gain hers.

"John," Lyla whispered to her husband, "i noticed that you have fewer men guarding the perimeter tonight."

John made a face at his wife before he answered her, "Moira's whim to give the men a day of rest and Robert took it as a golden opportunity. Oliver agreed after quite a lengthy discussion the three of us had so I didn't really have a choice."

"Let's just both stay alert then. That means, no drinking for you mister," Lyla told him cheekily as she took his drink away from him.

* * *

 

"Maybe I should give the kids a call."

"Sweetheart, it's early yet. Mom said they're having a family night tonight. Let them enjoy that. We'll call them in a few hours, I promise."

"Wait, what's family night?" Felicity asked Oliver confused.

"It's a Queen tradition we started when Thea was ten. Even back then I was always out of the house with my friends. One night, we all rushed back home because Raisa called us, Thea had very high fever and the doctors advised us to bring her to the hospital. It was a critical twenty four hours and when Thea recovered Mom asked her what she wanted most in the world and she'd have it. I personally thought she'd go for the doll house she'd been nagging us all about. But no, all she was asked for was time. She just wanted us to spend more time with her. She asked for a night, one night every month that the four of us would spend together. That's all she asked for. That was the first time I really felt guilty for not spending as much time with my sister as I did when we were both younger."

"You were busy charming the girls even then I take it?"

"Yeah," Oliver answered her sheepishly before he lamely tried to defend himself, "i was an asshat. Anyway, family night has always been a tradition ever since. It has evolved from being Thea's night to plan to whole night out to a family night of just hanging out together and just generally catching up. We don't do it quite as often now, but Mom makes it a point to have one once in a while."

"I think it's a nice tradition."

"It is. One that will continue in the next generation?"

"Why are you posting that as a question to me?" Felicity asked him confused.

Oliver embraced Felicity, wrapping his arms around her fully so they were not in full body contact, "because you will be playing a big part in the making of the next Queen generation?"

Felicity gave Oliver a face then punched him playfully, "Oliver Queen is there anything else that's on your mind aside from...that."

"Well," Oliver leaned in to kiss her for a moment, "my mind is also full of pride, for you. You really killed it with that presentation earlier. Even old man Jenkins was eating out of your hand after that kickass presentation. I would gladly be your bag carrier anyday for a chance to witness something like that again."

"I was badass, wasn't I."

"Yes you were sweetheart. And I am truly very proud of you. This is the reason why I will always support what you do. Felicity Smoak you are remarkable."

"Oliver Queen," she tiptoed so she could give him a tender kiss, "thank you for remarking on it. And thank you for coming with me. Truly, you being there helped me, a lot."

"It did? I did? Well then why don't you show me how much right now," Oliver grabbed his girls ass and lifted her so that she had no choice but to wrap her legs around him.

"Why don't you show me how much you love me!" Felicity responded giggling.

Oliver gently dropped Felicity in the middle of the King sized bed before he crawled on top of her, "i do sweetheart, love you."

Felicity circled her arms around his neck and pulled him down, "and I you."

* * *

 

"I'm stuffed!" Connor proclaimed as he tapped his tummy as he slouched on the couch.

"I still have room for chocolate," Emily happily declared.

Moira smiled at the antics of her grandchildren because that was what she thought of Emily too, blood relation or not, she was family. A welcome additions the Smoaks were to the Queens. Soon to be tied by marriage forever.

"I'll get Raisa to prepare some cake. I assume everyone prefers tea over coffee tonight?" Moira asked the adults in the room.

"Yes please," almost everyone said in unison.

They had now relocated to the parlour room of the Mansion, John and Lyla occupied on side of the couch, Donna was in one of the armchairs. Robert was keeping the couch warm for when Moira was to return and the kids where transferred from the couch to the rug and were now in their own world playfully arguing over nothing.

They were in the middle of a moment reminiscing about Connor's first steps as a toddler when all hell broke loose.

Armed men broke in through the windows, a couple more broke down the doors as pretty soon about a eight men in black wearing masks surrounded the group.

John had tried to defend them by reaching for his every present side arm but stopped last minute when one of the men pointed a gun at Connor.

The rest of the group were in shock with both Emily and Connor crying as they were appeased by Donna and Moira respectively.

Seconds later what remained of the Mansion staff were unceremoniously pushed inside the room by more men in black. Raisa, Esteban the house chef and a maid Stella. Even before the maid had fully stepped into the room she was shot in the head earning a round of screams again from all the occupants of the room.

"Don't shoot! Please stop. What do you want? Money?" Robert Queen almost trampled over his sentences in haste to ask to prevent further trauma on the children.

Finally one man removed his mask and the act itself earned a shriek from Emily as Connor shouted, "you!"

"So you do remember me...kid. Both of you do, that's good."

Robert Queen and John Diggle locked eyes in a silent message, an action caught by Lyla since she knew her husband that well.

"Slade. Are you Slade Wilson?" Moira asked bravely while still clutching her grandson.

"Ah, word travels," as he walked further into the room, "you didn't think I'd packed up and left did you? All I did was lure you into a false sense of comfort, wait patiently, until the day you would think this is all over and a thing of the past and lower your guard. It's such a shame that your son," he said to Moira before he turned to Donna, "and your daughter aren't here. But I'm sure a quick phone call would remedy that."

"Oh but," Moira started t say but was unceremoniously talked over by Slade.

"Oh but what? I know for a fact that both of them are in Atlanta at the moment carrying on as if it was business as usual that Ms. Smoak. Oliver Queen, that one is deeply, madly in love with Ms. Smoak. In his desire to protect his beloved, he exposed the rest of his family to the danger that was me. You know what," Slade walked over to the alcohol cabinet and poured himself some before he continued, "let's give the lovebirds tonight. One night of passion before everything changes."

"Changes? What changes?" Moira again engaged Slade as Robert and John looked at one another again.

Slade took several moments to look at his tumbler of alcohol before he addressed Moira's question, "catastrophic ones. Forever changing the city, this City."

"A thousand deaths, for what? Profit? You intend to profit from lost lives. Some of them will be children!" Moira said passionately. She loved Starling City, not only because this was the place of her birth but because she has invested her life work in.

Slade stared at Moira for a few seconds when she mentioned the children with what looked like regret but it was so fleeting that Moira thought she just imagined it. A man like Slade, if the information they had on him was all true had no remorse at all. Not even for children who would never live to enjoy the life they were meant to live.

"Hard sacrifices have to be made. That is the world we live in. That is the hard reality." Slade said solemnly.

"You're an evil man!" Connor made his voice heard attracting the attention of Slade who walked over to him much to the fear of everyone in the room as Moira tried to push her grandson behind her.

As Slade approached be pointed a shaky finger at Connor, "yes I am. Evil men do evil things. So don't expect any less from me," he directed his last statement mostly to Moira. "I don't want to hear another word out of any one of you. Let's all enjoy tonight. Enjoy the quiet while we all can. Unless you are all in need of another demonstration of just how evil I am. Maybe this time I won't choose an employee. Maybe it'll be one of you.

The kids had finally fallen asleep even if they tried to fight it. Both now peacefully sleeping on the couches. The rest of the adults had opted to stay awake except that at sometime during the early morning even Donna and Moira had fallen asleep.

Finally at dawn, Donna was kicked awake by Slade Wilson himself as he handed her own phone to her. Donna had been instantly awake noting that Robert, Moira, John and Lyla has guns pointed at them as did Raisa and the cook Esteban. All but the two children were now awake.

"I think it's time we woke up the lovebirds, don't you think? I hope you daughter had at least some sleep because it's the last one she'll be having in the next few days."

Donna took the phone from Slade shaking with fear as she started to punch in the numbers.

Oliver stirred as the ringing of a phone call finally registered. Both he and Felicity were asleep, tuckered out from all the action a few hours ago. He tried to lift himself but Felicity's body on top of his chest was locking him in place. Truth was, he didn't want to move at all. All he wanted was a few more hours of rest so that both he and Felicity would be recharge for maybe a few more rounds of lovemaking, but the persistent ringing continued.

Oliver grabbed his phone and after a glance realised it wasn't his. He glanced down again and had to smile at the still asleep Felicity, her hair scattered across his chest. He looked around again to see were the ringing was coming from and finally spotted Felicity's phone on the floor a few feet away making it even more of an effort for Oliver since he needed to leave the bed to answer it. But if it kept ringing it would eventually wake up his girl, and he didn't want that. He needed her rested.

So he gently untangled himself from Felicity and made his way to her phone bending over to pick it up, frowning after he realised who was calling. Donna. Why would she be calling her daughter in the wee hours of the morning?

He didn't think Donna would mind him answering the phone instead of her daughter. She knew they were together anyhow.

"Donna?" Oliver tentatively asked.

"Oh God Oliver," Donna's voice was shaky at best as she registered that it was Oliver not her daughter who answered.

"Hey Donna, you don't sound good. Felicity's still asleep, i'll wake her seems like you need to talk to her." Oliver answered Donna but as he finished his last word Slade grabbed the phone from Donna as he had been listening to the call as had everyone since it was on speaker.

"Just the man I wanted to talk to actually. Well you or the lovely Felicity. Maybe you're the better option anyway. As you can see I am currently with your mother-in-law, future mother-in-law that is. I don't want both of us to get ahead of ourselves here. Anything can happen between now and say tomorrow? I can tell you are starting to breathe heavily Oliver i suggest you try to control that anger because their is more coming." Slade paused dramatically for effect before he continued, "aside from your mother-in-law, i'm also currently staring down your whole family, that includes these cute bundles of joy little Connor and Emily. I suggest you and Ms. Smoak head home immediately if you want to see them at least in one piece say...within the next five hours. Why don't you give Ms. Smoak a good morning wake up kiss and give her the good news. We will all be here to welcome you at the Queen Mansion as soon as you arrive. And please, for their sake, do not alert the authorities."

With that, Slade Wilson cut the call and Oliver was left staring at Felicity's phone still not quite catching up with the conversation that just transpired.

* * *

 

"Are you sure?" The woman in white asked the dark skinned man again.

"Yes, 100%." The man answered as the woman nodded more to herself really as if arriving at a decision.

"Then I ask you," the woman approached the dark skinned man slowly and deliberately, "if it comes down to choosing a side. Will you be with me or not. I may have to do something I never thought I'd have to, but circumstances have changed."

The man nodded, "I don't expect any less from you. It is what drew him to you in the first place. And yes, you have earned not only my loyalty but my respect for what you are about to do."

* * *

 

"You know I once had a wife and a daughter. She would have been thirteen by now if she had lived. While I was always evil, as the little one here had put it," giving Connor a sarcastic smile before he continued, "i was an evil one with a conscious. Drawing the line on killing innocent lives, children. But alas, my family, my own daughter wasn't spared. It was right here in Starling City, ten years ago that my family had met their fate." Slade shared with the adults while they were all seated all so calmly as if it was one of those mundane morning brunches at the Mansion.

"And it wasn't even at all about me or any of my dealings. It was because of corrupt government officials who allowed businessmen to cut corners with sub-standard building materials," Slade continued his musings.

"This is about that collapsed Kelly building." Robert said recalling the incident from seven years ago before he turned to his wife, "the Kelly's they died shortly after that and all investigation on that matter seized after."

"Swept under the rug like it was nothing at all. Fifty eight lives were lost that day. Among them two of my own and the city chose to bury it under tons of red tape," Slade continued.

"This is about revenge then," Moira said as calmly as she could. On one hand she could try to understand if she just made an effort, but with what was about to happen to the city, how could she, "you killed the Kelly's didn't you? Wiped out the existence of the whole family." Moira continued a matter-a-factly.

"Like I said, I am an evil man. You shouldn't expect anything less from me. That is what put Starling City in the bullseye of my plans. It's been ten years, I've waited ten years for this to come to fruition."

"Killing thousands wouldn't bring back your wife or your daughter." Robert tried to reason with their captor.

Slade pointed at Robert as he answered, "I am fully aware of that. But you see, it has all been set in motion. For years what is about to happen has been cast in stone. Even I couldn't stop it now if I wanted to. Not that I want to stop what is about to happen, that is. There are forces greater than me at play. In this story of destruction, I am but a man with a part to play. I just get the bonus of personal satisfaction because it is the city that has brought me so much personal despair that will suffer destruction."

"Then who? Who are the people who you are working for. Maybe we could appeal to them." Moira was still trying to find reason with the man.

Slade gave a deep, hearty laugh. "I have already revealed to much as it is. Their is no stopping what is about to happen. I am only telling you all this as a courtesy gesture for hosting me last night. You Queens do live grandly, kingly if I say so myself."

Slade stood up, pushing back is chair, "I will make one final act of kindness as a token of good faith. If Ms. Smoak agrees to do what she's suppose to do, without further delay. I will allow her daughter and Mr. Queen's son together with Ms. Smoak's mother to leave the confines of this Mansion to a safer location of their choice outside of the city. To be escorted by my people of course, less she renegades from our covenant. There is a very tiny part of me that seeks redemption in the eyes of the future generation." Slade was looking at Connor as he said the words. "The heir to the Queen fortune will be kept alive to hopefully spearhead the efforts to rebuild the city two decades after the city has been razed to the ground. That is the best I can do."

"Let us help you. What are these men you work for holding over your head. If you are capable of sparing the lives of two innocent children then deep down redemption is still possible." Robert said.

"I've made my peace a long time ago. In the business I am in, you go big or you don't mess with the big boys at all." Slade paused before he continued, this time he returned to form channeling his most menacing self, "enough of this phsycho-analysizing bullshit. It's only a few minutes 'til that time. I suggest you use that time wisely and say your goodbye's to one another."

* * *

 

"You think this will work?" Felicity asked Oliver before she stepped out of the car.

"It has to, it's our only play."

"Oliver, if it comes down to the lives of thousands over the lives of our children, our families. I have to make the right choice."

"I trust you. I love you. Remember that, whatever happens. Know that I love you. I love those kids."

Felicity reached out to touch both of Oliver's hands as if she'd never let them go, "it's as if you are saying goodbye."

Oliver swallowed a breath before he answered, "if it comes to it. Your life, the life of our children for mine. Then yes. Their is no choice to make. I will always choose you."

"Oh Oliver. I can't loose you. Not when I finally found happiness. Not when I now have everything I've ever wanted. Fate wouldn't be so mean as to give us a taste of all this only to take it away."

"Then let's pray this all turns out the way we hope it would."

* * *

 

"Anytime now Ms. Smoak. It's almost midnight. Your mother, your child and your beloved's child are already safely out of the city and so is Mrs. Queen. That wasn't even part of the original bargain. But I can still use your fiancee, yes I know he proposed to you last night, that was the reason I gave you that one more night for yourselves. Or I can even use your future father-in-law, point a gun to his head so we could get this ball rolling. It's really all up to you, Ms. Smoak."

The moment Slade had mentioned the engagement to Felicity, she locked eyes with Oliver. They hadn't even told anyone else about it. For Slade to even know what transpired that night. This was a new level of creepiness, even for him. Had he been spying on them, had a camera installed inside their hotel room?

The reach and resources of the man was now even more real with the reveal.

Oliver for his part tried to block off as much of what Slade was saying as he could and focus his whole being on Felicity. Both he and his father were currently tied up in chairs inside the home office used by Oliver with Felicity seated on his work table that had now been converted to a control room with several computers and monitors surrounding Felicity.

John and Lyla, together with the other Mansion staff where locked in a room somewhere but before John was taken away at gun point, he winked at Oliver What that meant, Oliver wasn't quite sure but it had to be good news. He needed some.

Based on what was communicated. Felicity was coding and configuring a network of failsafes for a bomb that was set for midnight, tonight. To ensure that she was doing the right coding. Slade had brought in another man whose job it was, was to do nothing but look over Felicity's shoulder and make sure she was plugging in the correct data.

Felicity had tried a few trick codes just to gauge the level of competence of her watch dog and concluded that the man could spot basic flaws in her programming, she knew that because the man grunted every time she did it. She was confident however that the man wasn't entirely at her level of genius since he didn't react to the more skilled 're-programming' she did.

The way Slade had designed the bombs. Two smaller bombs were to detonate first by midnight at opposite locations of the City, sending the first and seconds responders near the outskirts of the city leaving the city virtually open to a wider threat. The threat of the bomb to be detonated in the middle of the city. Once the first bombs had been triggered, there was no way the main bomb could be stopped.

The 'investors' have been informed of the what was about to go down tonight and they where safely tucked away in the next town eager awaiting the proceedings.

It was almost midnight now. It was almost that time of the night and Felicity was starting to sweat thinking what she was doing and the lives she was playing with. She was never one to play god, even with the level of skills she had. She made a conscious effort to use her gifts for the positive, that was the main reason Emily's father and she had disagreed a lot. He wasn't one with much of a conscious. Lucky for everyone, he was small fries. Didn't have the mind for grand schemes.

"It's almost time now, Ms. Smoak." Slade interrupted her thoughts.

Felicity eyed Oliver for a few seconds before she gave Slade her full attention, "I need one last thing done. Oliver and Robert, they are to be set free together with the rest of the staff. I want them out of the Mansion and away from here. If the City is ground zero of the destruction, I need them away from here. You don't need them. You just need me."

Oliver started to protest but was stopped by Felicity, "no Oliver. One of us has to survive this. For Emily and Connor. Unless you learned how to code overnight then it's clear who has to be left behind." Felicity looked Oliver, a tear escaped her as she continued, "getting to marry the man of my dreams someday. It was always a farfetched dream and I guess it will remain one. I'm just glad we had this last few months together. They were the best days of my life. A taste of the life we could have had."

Oliver's tears started to fall, the man uncaring that this was seen by all as he once again struggled with the bonds that were keeping him in place. "This isn't how our story will end."

"Oh enough of the melodrama! I will agree to this last request of your Ms. Smoak. Untie the men and get the other prisoners organised. They are to leave the Mansion in exactly ten minutes."

The second Oliver was untied, he rushed to Felicity but was stalled by a firm hand by Slade. "No dramatic goodbyes please. Two minutes Mr. Queen, then Ms. Smoak and I need to be alone together."

Oliver pulled his arm forcefully away from Slade has he approached Felicity pulling her out of the chair and giving her a hard embrace.

"I love you," he whispered to her ear as Felicity started to whimper uncontrollably.

"Love you too Oliver."

Oliver grabbed both of Felicity's cheeks and gave her a hard kiss tracing her form with his hands. After a few more seconds of embrace, Oliver caught her eye once again before he turned to Slade with a hard look.

"This isn't over! There's still time to stop this. Let me help you. Work with us to find a..."

"Take them away!" Slade interrupted Oliver. His men pulled the father and son away from the room as Oliver continued to shout Felicity's name. Felicity for her part had tears running down her cheeks as all she could do was stare at Oliver being dragged away from her, thinking that this was the last she may see him.

Slade marched back to Felicity and unceremoniously turned her chair around to face the computer banks again. A silent order to continue.

Oliver and Robert Queen where in a car together with some of Slade's men. The rest, including John and Lyla Diggle, Raisa and Esteban the cook were in a second car following them out of the gates of the Queen Mansion when the cars were blocked by another set of cars.

Men alighted from the vehicles pointing high powered guns at the vehicles that contained the Queens and the Diggles who were with Slade's me.

Maybe because Slade's men recognised the group of men surrounding the cars, they were in no hurry to exit the cars. That was until a woman finally exited one of the cars.

A woman dressed in a red mid-thigh expensive looking dress, young, maybe mid twenties commanded the attention of not just the men she came with but surprisingly the attention of Slade's men too.

She beckoned the man riding with the Queens with a lift of a palm and the man followed the instruction immediately. A few seconds later the lady was in conversation with the man who was joint by another one nodding at whatever the woman was telling them as moments later she pointed out instructions to the other men which were followed without question.

Seconds later, the door on Oliver's side was opened and he was instructed to alight.

Inside the Mansion, all was in ready. Felicity has finally completed to coding to Slade's satisfaction as she earned a smirk from him.

"When I press this," Slade pointed to a red button, "the two smaller bombs go off signalling the start of the destruction of Starling City. If you did your part right, thirty minutes after the main bomb is to go off at the heart of the city. Since the systems of the bombs are linked, nothing can stop the second detonation from happening. Is that right Ms. Smoak?"

Felicity swallowed before she answered, "yes."

"Then you did what you were needed to do. I would have loved to have you permanently on my team but I don't think we will work together without the threat of a life hanging over your head. So this is where we part ways I think?" Slade started to lift something from the pocket of his pants that had Felicity's mind thinking this was it, he was going to shoot her. He was holding a gun.

But then the front doors of the Mansion burst open again. Well what was left of the front doors and since Felicity and Slade where both in the inner room they both had a few seconds wondering what was happening. Slade recovered faster as he used the time to press the red button to set to his plan in motion making Felicity gulp at just how significant that second was in changing the fate of a thousand people.

"What did you just do!" A shocked voice echoed in the room as Slade froze for a moment recognising the voice before he turned around.

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_cliff hanger. just who was that who dared to holler out to the mighty Slade Wilson._


	15. Chapter 15

**_Author's Note: It's been awhile. A long while. My bad. I've just been totally deflated by Arrow Season 5 and I've lost my passion for writing._ **

_**The holiday break and better news for whats to come for episodes 19 'til the season 5 finale has given me some hope. Hence the tentative step back into the foray of writing.** _

_**I've re-read this story and not only have I been appalled by the grammar/writing mistakes (which I shall fix before my next update) more importantly I needed to re-read the story from beginning to the latest chapter so I could give justice to this next chapter. Thank god I realized this chapter had already been halfway written and was just sitting in my laptop.** _

_**I hope you will give this story one more chance and leave me a short message. I need all the inspiration I can get since I'm not yet a 100%.** _

_**I will be posting links in my twitter and tumblr accounts soon. This story will also be posted in Archive of Our Own in a few.** _

_**As usual, I don't own anything. I am just an Olicity shipper and I worship our one and only unicorn, Felicity Smoak.** _

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* * *

 

_**DARKEST BEFORE DAWN** _

_**Chapter 15 – Race Against Time** _

"When I press this," Slade pointed to a red button, "the two smaller bombs go off signaling the start of the destruction of Starling City. If you did your part right, thirty minutes after the main bomb is to go off at the heart of the city. Since the systems of the bombs are linked, nothing can stop the second detonation from happening. Is that right Ms. Smoak?"

Felicity swallowed before she answered, "yes."

"Then you did what you were needed to do. I would have loved to have you permanently on my team but I don't think we will work together without the threat of a life hanging over your head. So this is where we part ways I think?" Slade started to lift something from the pocket of his pants that had Felicity's mind thinking this was it. He was going to shoot her. He was holding a gun. Was it a gun?

But then the front doors of the Mansion burst open again. Well what was left of the front doors and since Felicity and Slade where both in the inner room they both had a few seconds wondering what was happening. Slade recovered faster as he used the time to press the red button to set to his plan in motion making Felicity gulp at just how significant that second was in changing the fate of a thousand people.

"What did you just do!" A shocked voice echoed in the room as Slade froze for a moment recognizing the voice before he turned around.

"What are you doing here!" Slade boomed.

The woman stepped forward, taking in her surroundings spotting the blond girl near the computer banks with a lost expression before she turned her full being to Slade.

"I am not going to let you sacrifice what we have for this nonsense. I haven't said anything, I've let you decide for me, decide for us," the woman continued to speak with a perceptible tremble in her voice as she approached Slade, "but enough is enough. I'm done just doing your bidding. I'm not going to go hide somewhere safe and hope that you come back to me, come back to us." The woman continued this time holding on to her tummy. "I choose to fight, fight for us!"

"I told you it isn't safe. That this," Slade gestures around, to nothing in particular, "that this is bigger than you and me, than us. And I'm fighting back in the only way I know how. I'm completing this mission. It's the only way for me to keep you safe. To keep both of you safe."

"What….what if there's another way?"

"There is no other way!" Slade answered her almost angrily. With her our in the open, will all these was going down. Everything was going to change.

"But what if there is?"

"Stubborn woman!"

"She," the woman pointed to Felicity, "she can stop this."

"Everything has already been set in motion. The bombs already went off. There's no going back from that," Slade said looking at the woman with a tinge of regret.

"I….i think I can stop it. The big one I mean," Felicity interrupted the couple bravely. This was her home too. She didn't want to be responsible for more lives lost. Not if she could do something about it.

The woman grabbed Slade's hands, "you hear that. We can still put a stop to this. Do this for me, for us." She pulled Slade down for what she needed to do next because he was so tall and she barely reached his sturdy shoulders. She then tiptoed and placed her lips to his. For a few seconds Slade didn't respond but then suddenly, Slade wrapped his arms all the way around the woman's waist and pulled her up as he deepened the kiss.

Felicity's eyes widened. The Slade she knew was so different from the one that was in front of her.

After what seemed like an eternity to Felicity because this was something she really didn't want to witness, the woman pulled away from Slade and repeated what was the most important thing for her to get across to her man.

"She can stop this." The woman repeated pointing to Felicity without breaking eye contact with Slade. "We are going to be parents. You are going to be a father. Let's do this right. Let's do right by the city that has not only brought you heartache and despair in the past. Because," she lifted her hand once again to Slade's cheek, "I'd like to believe that very same city brought you happiness and joy too. This was where we met after all. This is my home too."

Slade gave out a loud sighed then place his large hand on top of the woman's small hand on his cheek, "you're willing to trade your life, yours and our child's for theirs?"

"I'm doing what's best for you and for our family. Because that what we are Slade, a family. Let's do the right thing. We are going to be parents soon. You are going to get a chance to start again, be a father again. I may be asking too much of you when I ask you to trade the painful memory of your lost wife and child for a future with me and your unborn child but the bottom line is, I love you and I won't loose you without a fight. Even if its you I have to take on."

The woman was already in tears by the time she finished. Her fighting words were what finally got to Slade as he used his large fingers to wipe away her tears.

"We have barely twenty five minutes left before the big one will detonate. The timer has been set automatically once the smaller bombs had been triggered. There is no way to stop it from here," Slade told the woman with regret in his voice.

"Maybe it can't be done from here, but if we get to where it's located in time. There's a chance that we can deactivate it." Felicity pushed her glasses up nervously, she was after all once again interrupting what was a private emotionally charged conversation but time was of the essence.

The woman looked at Slade, a challenge in her eyes, "you can do this, do the right thing." The woman then turned to Felicity, "while he is generally familiar with bombs, I think this one is more your wheelhouse. Can you talk him through how to detonate it?"

Felicity turned back to the computers, typing away for a few seconds before she nodded and almost stumbled over her word, "I can. But it would take two people to disarm it. There's a failsafe."

The woman tiptoed and kissed her man's cheek before she gave him a push, "go, now. We don't have time to spare. Your man," the woman addressed Felicity, "he is outside. We have an agreement, he will go with you," she said the last part to Slade.

And that was how the next few minutes unfolded with Slade and Oliver finding themselves reluctantly working together as they raised on separate bikes toward Queen Consolidated. Ironically, that was where Slade had planted the final bomb. In the basement park garage inside a car, hidden in plain sight.

John had also gone with them at a much slower pace since he took a car while Robert Queen rushed back to the Mansion to be by Felicity's side if only so that his son could breathe easier knowing that Felicity was safe and guarded.

Robert also provided a second pair of hands and eyes and ears. While Felicity talked Oliver through what needed to be done, he studied the schematics of the bomb. He may be a little rusty but he still had stock knowledge of advance weaponry. He was the man who built QC from nothing after all.

"One man to cut the wires, the other to freeze the liquid inside. But it has to be done simultaneously. The bomb is unstable. Oliver, I know this is asking a lot son, but you and Slade need to put your differences aside for the greater good. For this City." Robert talked to his son through the comms.

"Slade, I can hear you grunt from all the way here. Work with Queen, this is for us as much as it is for them and this City." The woman said her eyes still glued to the screen as Felicity continued to type away.

"Okay we barely have two minutes left. Oliver you cut the wires. Mr. Slade you freeze the liquid as I instructed earlier. You both have to work together to remove the glass encasement first," Felicity instructed still looking at the schematics of the bomb. "Work in sync, one minute and forty seconds….."

Oliver and Slade each took a side, working with screwdriver to remove the glass casing. Just as they completed the task John Diggle arrived.

Oliver was relieved that there was a third person joining them because truthfully he was alternating between giving into his desire to at the very least punch the daylights out of Slade. Thousands of lives were at stake after all.

It was frustrating that he had to work with Slade. Oliver barely acknowledged the presence of the guy choosing to block out the man in favor of listening to the calming voice of Felicity and the occasional interruption of his Dad.

Oliver assumed Slade did the same, choosing to listen to the voice of his baby mama? That was quite a revelation. Slade was to be a father! Oliver didn't know how he felt about that considering what the man tried to do to not only his son but to Felicity's daughter!

Felicity had set-up the comms in such a way that only when it was absolutely necessary would the comm lines be open to all. Right now Felicity had a private comm with Oliver, Robert and John on one ear and she had another one with Slade and the woman on the other ear.

"It's time Oliver." Felicity's voice broke through Oliver's thoughts then he heard a click that was to meant to signal to all that the comm link was now open to all.

"Sixty five seconds. It would take forty-five to completely freeze the liquid ensuring that the bomb would be stable enough when the first wires are cut. Oliver, you cut the black wire when both you and Slade determine the liquid is totally frozen and only if you're sure. Then you both have about twenty seconds to cut the following wires in sync on both ends. Green. Yellow. Red. In that order. Sixty two seconds, start to freeze the liquid now!" Felicity methodically instructed the two men.

Oliver wiped the sweat that fell over his cheek. This was probably the most intense situation he had been in his whole life. This was one of those life-defining moments that made one realize what kind of man he was.

It was just him and Slade who according to Felicity were familiar with the essence of bomb making. Of course, it was his business to know of these things after all.

John, after a brief appearance had been instructed by Felicity to coordinate with the QC security to ensure the building was unoccupied. That any personnel within the building where shepherded away from the danger.

"It's not working!" Slade grunted heavily.

"Felicity!" Oliver's voice rose in panic at Slade's declaration. He leaned closer to get a better view of what Slade was talking about.

"It's supposed to work!" Felicity cried in response.

"Slade what's happening!" the woman screamed in panic in the comms, suddenly by Felicity's side.

"Felicity, how much time do we have?" Oliver tried to ask her calmly but his focus was still on what Slade was doing.

"Twenty four seconds, Oliver talk to me. What's happening?"

"Slade?" It was Oliver's first words directed at his adversary.

"It's solidifying. I just don't know if it will be fast enough."

"We have to try. Tell me when." Oliver answered Slade. His hands grabbed the wire cutter, ready to cut the black wire as Felicity instructed.

In the meantime, Felicity, Robert, the woman and even John listened silently to the conversation between the two.

Felicity looked at the clock and inhaled, "Ten seconds."

"Slade….." Oliver uttered more to keep himself calm than anything else. He could see that the liquid was starting to harden, quickly. "Talk to me."

"Eight seconds." Felicity continued to countdown.

"Now Queen." Slade finally said.

In less than two seconds Oliver had sliced the wire and together the two of them had removed the outer portion of the bomb. Now they had to work together to cut the three wires on either side in sync. Their lives and the lives of a thousand others depended on them working in tandem.

"Five Seconds."

"Green." Slade uttered.

"Three Seconds. Oliver, I love you." Felicity's voice remained strong.

"Yellow. I love you too Felicity" Oliver's voice was weak.

"Two Seconds." Felicity counted over Oliver's declaration.

"Red." Oliver and Slade said almost at the same time just as Felicity's voice finally panicked "we are out of time!"

The timer went on for a few more milliseconds before it finally stopped at 0:80 with both Oliver and Slade slumped on the concrete floor breathing hard due to the rush of adrenalin.

"Oliver!" Felicity's voice screamed in panic.

"Slade!" the woman also screamed her man's name.

For a few seconds all was quiet. Felicity continued to monitor her screens more to give herself something to do. She noted that no new alarms were raised on the police band. At least that was one thing out of the way.

A minute passed, Felicity was getting antsy so was the other woman. Robert himself couldn't stand still.

Two full minutes and still nothing was heard over the comms.

"Felicity," it was John's voice that finally interrupted the silence.

"John?"

"Oliver's fine, or at least as fine as can be given the circumstances." Felicity could hear the subtle rebuke in John's voice.

John himself was worried when a full minute passed and he hadn't heard from Oliver. Seeing that everything was normal outside QC, John made his way back inside the park garage of QC in time to see both Oliver and Slade going at one another.

In hindsight, John realized it was Oliver who was doing much of the aggressive physical contact with Slade dodging the attacks because despite Oliver's solid frame, he was no match for the much larger man if Slade decided too aggressively defend himself.

It had taken John using his full strength to get Oliver off Slade. The anger and rage finally let loose by Oliver. He tabled his feelings as Felicity had asked him to until the immediate threat had been taken cared of but now with nothing stopping him he gunned for the man who was single-handedly responsible for several months of anxiety and the almost deaths of not only his son, but the people who he had so much unconditional love for, Felicity and her little girl Emily.

He was elated, yes exhilarated to see the result of his mauling. Slade had blood underneath his eye and brow. But the thrill lasted all of a few seconds because the reality of it all was that was all he could do at this point.

He had imagined several scenarios in his mind when this moment would happen. He and Slade were face to face. And in all those occasions he would be using his bare hands to suck the life of the man who he had hated so much or other inventive ways, but in all the versions Slade would be dead. And he would be the man who would have done the killing.

It was a far cry from the kind of man Oliver was. But in the recent months he had learned to be vigilant. He had accepted that to keep his family, the people he loved safe, he had to be able to find a side of him that was willing to go above and beyond.

He had done that on at least two occasions now, during the rescue of his son and Felicity's abduction. He had to be prepared to take a life, if necessary. His hands were now tainted with the blood. But he didn't regret any of it.

John physically pulling him away from further doing damage to Slade had Oliver at first redirecting his ire at John for interrupting him but John just uttered one word and Oliver calmed. 'Felicity' that was all John said before he offered his comm to Felicity. It was only at that point that Oliver realized he had probably lost his comm during the fight with Slade.

As Oliver emerged from the basement of Queen Consolidated, he was greeted by mayhem. More than a dozen police vehicles parked haphazardly with what probably was the entire police SCPD force.

Oliver had calmed down by now.

He had not only been scolded over the comms by Felicity, Detective Lance who was first to reach him, John and Slade in the basement had all but pushed him toward his bodyguard John and instructed John to get him out.

Although calm, Oliver remained vigilant. The last few weeks had taught him to never let his guard down. Something was still making him uneasy.

The hairs in the back of his neck were standing in attention, he turned to John to tell him about it just as from the peripheral of his eye he registered Detection Lance and another police officer emerge from the basement exit unto the street with Slade Wilson between them.

The next second Slade was falling backward with both the police officer and Detective Lance being pulled down by the weight of Slade, the very dead weight of Slade Wilson.


End file.
